Utah Medicaid Responds: Free 30-Day Medication Supply Offered During Cyber Outage
Utah Medicaid has instructed pharmacies to offer medication for free due to a cyber outage at Change Healthcare, as stated in a press release.
An initiative by the state program is reaching out to 17,000 Medicaid members who are on high-risk or life-sustaining medication due to an outage affecting pharmacy prescription information, as stated by the Utah Dept. of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
On Wednesday, Feb. 21, Change Healthcare — the Utah Medicaid pharmacy vendor for members whose prescriptions are paid directly by Medicaid — experienced a cyber security issue that led to the disconnection of their systems.
This action was taken in an attempt to minimize any additional consequences, as stated in the announcement.
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Utah Medicaid Team Assists Members During Change Healthcare Outage
Responding to the situation, approximately 200 employees from the Utah Dept. of Health and Human Services Medicaid Team, along with the Utah Dept. of Workforce Services, will reach out to Medicaid members needing a refill of high-risk medication within the next seven days, by Mar. 2, due to the anticipated duration of the Change Healthcare outage.
Utah Medicaid has instructed pharmacies to offer Medicaid members a 30-day supply of medications without charge, as stated in the announcement.
Medicaid members with prescriptions due for refill between Mar. 3 – Mar. 9 will have their situation and needs reviewed by DHHS over the next week. In addition, the department mentioned that they are ready to reach out again if the outage persists.
Individuals covered by Medicaid who require medication for life-saving purposes or to mitigate behavioral health issues will receive a notification. Here are a few instances: medication for
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Blood pressure
- Epilepsy
- Dealing with asthma and respiratory problems
- Discomfort
- Hemophilia
- Mental well-being
- Feeling down, worried, or struggling with substance abuse
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“We didn’t cause the problem, but we are owning a solution,” stated Tracy Gruber, the executive director of DHHS. “We are committed to ensuring our members have access to the medication they require.”
If there are any inquiries, individuals can contact Utah Medicaid at 866-608-9422. According to sources, DHHS has extended their customer service hours through the weekend from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
Change Healthcare, along with its parent company, Optum, offers technology and data solutions to insurance companies and healthcare providers across the country.
