Two years after the 2024 Change Healthcare cyberattack, the healthcare industry continues to face concerns about reliance on single clearinghouse connections. The outage disrupted claims processing, payments, eligibility transactions, prior authorizations, remittances, and other administrative workflows for providers, hospitals, pharmacies, and health plans, forcing many organizations to rely on manual processes and emergency measures to maintain cash flow.
The incident highlighted the risks of concentrating healthcare data through a single clearinghouse. According to the article, some providers were unable to switch to another clearinghouse because their payers only accepted transactions through Change Healthcare. While some payers have since expanded their clearinghouse connectivity and added alternative EDI pathways, the article notes that single-clearinghouse arrangements remain across parts of the payer landscape.
For providers and medical practices, clearinghouse redundancy can help reduce disruptions to claims submission, payment processing, and other electronic transactions if one network becomes unavailable. The article argues that continued investment in cybersecurity is important, but maintaining alternative clearinghouse connections can provide an additional layer of operational protection and help prevent another widespread disruption to the healthcare revenue cycle.