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Change Healthcare Event

The cybersecurity incident at Change Healthcare is leading to significant disruption to routine business interactions between some health care providers and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.

On June 20, 2024, Change Healthcare issued public notice of a data breach. We want to assure you this is not a Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts cyber incident. We continue to conduct all business operations, such as processing claims, benefits and eligibility verification, and referral and authorization requests by a variety of other methods.

August 8, 2024 Update: We have reconnected to Change Healthcare for some functionality

We have restored connectivity to Change Healthcare’s clearinghouse, Relay Exchange, that was disrupted by Change Healthcare’s February 21, 2024 cybersecurity incident. This allows medical and mental health providers who have a direct connection to Change Healthcare to:

  • Submit claims
  • Receive electronic remittance advices
  • Get historical claims data

We are working now to process any remittances that were held during the cybersecurity event and will deliver these electronic remittances to Change Healthcare in the coming weeks.

ConnectCenter functionality through Provider Central will be restored in the future
Please note that ConnectCenter and Dental Connect** still remain unavailable for checking member benefits and eligibility, submitting and verifying referrals, and for direct data entry of claims through Provider Central.

However, we are working to restore full ConnectCenter functionality through our provider portal after additional security features have been installed. We will provide updates as they are available. Until then, please continue to use your chosen interim solution, such as using an alternative clearinghouse or portal, to conduct business with us. We provide a full list of alternative clearinghouses below under the "Submitting claims" and "Benefits and eligibility checks" sections.

Where applicable, we will extend the following for provider-submitted claims for our commercial, Medicare Advantage and Federal Employee Program plans.

  • The claim filing limit of 90 days from the date of service
  • The one-year provider appeals filing limit

We will notify you before resuming our standard filing limit.

** We're working with Change Healthcare to restore Dental Connect features.

For more information

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Get technical support

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has partnered with the Mass Collaborative to establish the Change Healthcare Assistance Program (CHAP) — to help providers quickly identify claim submission solutions for your organization. The Center offers technical support to any provider affected by Change Healthcare’s outage.

The program offers:

  • Help identifying a clearinghouse to meet your organization’s needs and a checklist for connecting your practice
  • A list of alternative EDI services
  • Frequently asked questions about how to connect to an alternate service provider

Contact the Change Healthcare Assistance Program

Claim filing and appeal limits for Change Healthcare affected providers

We are supporting our participating providers who have been affected by the Change Healthcare incident by temporarily waiving the following for provider-submitted claims for our commercial, Medicare Advantage and Federal Employee Program plans.

  • The claim filing limit of 90 days from the date of service
  • The one-year provider appeals filing limit

We will continue to evaluate the situation regularly and will notify you before resuming our standard filing limit.

Submitting claims

Option 1 - Use an alternative clearinghouse
We have existing relationships with the following clearinghouses and can accept HIPAA-compliant 837 claims transactions through them.

Medical Dental
  • Apex EDI
  • Availity
  • Claim.MD
  • ClaimRemedi
  • Cortex EDI
  • CureMD
  • Data Distributors
  • Eligible
  • Emergent Billing
  • Encoda
  • G4 Health Systems
  • Gateway EDI
  • NEHEN
  • GE Healthcare
  • Infinedi
  • Integrated Physicians Management Services
  • MD On-Line
  • MedAssets
  • MTBC
  • MG Squared
  • Navicure
  • Nightingale
  • Nuesoft Technologies
  • Office Ally
  • Passport Health
  • PHIcure
  • Practice Insight
  • Quadax
  • SSI Group
  • Techsoft
  • TKSoftware
  • TriZetto Provider Solutions
  • ViaTrack Systems
  • XiFin
  • ZirMed
  • Apex EDI
  • ClaimRemedi
  • EDI Health Group (DentalXChange)
  • NEHEN
  • Tesia Clearinghouse
  • TriZetto Provider Solutions

Please note: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts does not have a preferred clearinghouse for claims submission. Choosing one of the solutions listed above is a business decision to be made by each provider. You may want to consult with your practice management software company to determine which clearinghouse, if any, their application works with.

About 835 remittances
All 835 claim remittances created since February 21, 2024 have been stored. In light of the Change Healthcare outage, if you’d like, we can send 835 claim remittances to an alternative clearinghouse of your choice to enable you to reconcile your records.  (Please note: You must first be enrolled to receive 835 remittances from the recipient clearinghouse.)

  • See the list of alternative clearinghouses with which Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts has existing relationships above. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts does not have a preferred clearinghouse for claim submission or 835 remittance delivery.
  • If you decide to change your 835 delivery method to us, please advise the new clearinghouse to email a completed EDI enrollment form to EDIsupport@bcbsma.com, and we can update 835 delivery within two business days. All clearinghouses listed on this page should have the form.

! Your EFT payments are not impacted. Payments are sent directly from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, and the online advisories can still be accessed in Payspan.

Option 2 - Submit claims electronically directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
All health care providers in our network who can create a HIPAA-compliant 837 can submit claims directly to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts for free by following these steps:

  • Email EDIsupport@bcbsma.com to request a Trading Partner Agreement (TPA) and SFTP Account Request Form. In your email, please include your organization’s legal name and corporate mailing address.
  • Email completed forms to EDIsupport@bcbsma.com. Use the subject line, "Security Forms." NOTE: If you are planning to have multiple users at your organization, have all the individuals who will need manual access to your Tumbleweed EDI mailbox complete the SFTP Account Request Form (sections in brackets).
  • Test the system. An EDI analyst will contact you to guide you through the testing process.
  • Begin submitting transactions.

Note: If you directly enter claims into ConnectCenter, this might not be an option for your practice. Building an 837 file is a complex task and often requires specialized software.

Option 3 – Mail in a paper claim
You can mail claims on paper to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts at the addresses listed below. Please note that processing paper claims will take at least 30-45 days. For faster payment, we recommend using one of the options listed above.

Mail addresses:

1500 form UB-04 form ADA 2019 form

Blue Benefit Administrators of MA (BBA)
For members with plans administered by BBA, our 100% owned subsidiary

Blue Cross Blue Shield
Data Capture
PO Box 986020
Boston, MA 02298

Blue Cross Blue Shield
Data Capture
PO Box 986015
Boston, MA 02298

Blue Cross Blue Shield
Process Control
PO Box 986005
Boston, MA 02298

Blue Benefit Administrators of MA
PO Box 55917
Boston, MA 02205-5917

Paper forms can be purchased at most office supply stores.

If you have questions, please call Provider Self Service at 1-800-771-4097, option 2.

If you have questions about your Blue Benefit Administrators of Massachusetts claims, visit our BBA page, or call 1-877-707-BLUE (2583).

As of March 15, 2024, electronic medical and dental claims submitted to BBA using payer ID 03036 have been redirected through a new clearinghouse. Check with your clearinghouse to make sure they received a message about this change.
Checking claim status

Our Payspan and InfoDial applications are not affected by the event at Change Healthcare. You can continue to use those applications to review claim details.

Dental providers: If you cannot use Payspan or InfoDial, please call Dental Provider Services at 1-800-882-1178, option 3 to check claims status.

Benefit and eligibility checks

We have existing relationships with the following clearinghouses. These clearinghouses can submit HIPAA compliant 270 eligibility transactions to us.

Clearinghouses for both medical and dental providers Dental-specific clearinghouses
  • Athena Healthcare
  • Availity
  • Claim.MD
  • Clearwave Corporation
  • CureMD
  • Dorado Systems
  • Eligible
  • FrontRunnerMD
  • InstaMed
  • LogixHealth
  • maxRTE
  • NEHEN
  • Nuesoft Technologies
  • Passport Health
  • Phreesia
  • Recondo Technology
  • Siemens Medical Solutions
  • TransUnion Healthcare
  • TriZetto Provider Solutions
  • Wave HDC
  • ZirMed
  • Zotec Partners
  • DentalXChange (EDI Healthgroup)
  • TVyne Dental (Tessia Clearinghouse)

Note: These clearinghouses offer capabilities for electronic attachments.

You may want to consult with your practice management software company to determine which clearinghouse, if any, their application works with.

If these clearinghouses are not an option for you, please contact us:

  • InfoDial (our automated telephone system for determining eligibility, benefits, and claim status): 1-800-443-6657. For help, refer to our user guide.
  • Provider Services:
    • 1-800-451-8124 (Ancillary Providers)
    • 1-800-882-1178 (Dentists)
    • 1-800-451-8123 (Hospitals)
    • 1-800-882-2060 (Physicians)

Please expect a longer than usual response time because of increased call volume from the event at Change Healthcare.

Authorization and referrals

Authorization Manager is not impacted by the event at Change Healthcare. You can submit referral requests through that tool.

Please note it does not accept batch requests. Referrals must be submitted individually.

If you are unfamiliar with Authorization Manager, or need other support with the tool, please email: HMMAuthorizationManager@bcbsma.com.

Carelon
Our vendor, Carelon Medical Benefits Management, administers prior authorization programs for the services listed below. Carelon is not affected by the event at Change Healthcare. Please continue to use Carelon’s secure website to submit prior authorization requests for these services.

  • Cancer care
  • Genetic testing
  • Outpatient, high technology radiology services
  • Sleep management

Other options
If the options above are unavailable to you, you can call or fax requests for an authorization using the numbers listed below. Please understand that respond times may be longer than normal.  

Commercial members Call 1-800-327-6716
Fax 1-888-282-0780

Medicare HMO and PPO members

Call 1-800-222-7620
Fax 1-800-447-2994
Federal Employee Program (FEP)
Contact your local plan. In Massachusetts, call
Call 1-800-689-7219
Fax 1-888–282–1315
Behavioral or mental health Call 1-800-524-4010
Fax 1-888-641-5199
For acute levels of care Fax 1-888-973-0727
Other resources and supports

United Healthcare support for people concerned about personal data
Change Healthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, has created a dedicated website and call center (1-866-262-5342) to support those who may be concerned about their personal data affected in the Change Healthcare cyber security incident. Learn more on their web page or read our press release.

Thank you

Thank you for the care you provide to our members.


Revision history:

  • August 8, 2024: We’ve reconnected to Change Healthcare for some functionality for those with a direct connection.
  • July 25, 2024: Added InfoDial information to "Benefit and eligibility checks" section.
  • July 10, 2024: Updated to indicate that we are not receiving or processing ConnectCenter transactions.
  • May 22, 2024: Added UnitedHealth Group website and call center information for those concerned about personal data affected in the incident.
  • April 11, 2024: Created separate section for eligibility and benefits clearinghouses for dental providers.
  • April 8, 2024: We won’t reconnect with Change Healthcare until we have conducted a rigorous security and risk assessment.
  • March 29, 2024: Added new section/information on 835 remittances.
  • March 25, 2024: Relay Exchange clearinghouse may be back online soon as an electronic claim submission option.
  • March 20, 2024: Added Change Healthcare Assistance Program website link and details.
  • March 19, 2024: Updated the MassHealth office hours. Check their website for upcoming trainings.
  • March 15, 2024: Electronic claims submitted to BBA using payer ID 03036 have been redirected through BBA’s new clearinghouse.
  • March 11, 2024: Launched new page. Updated clearinghouse information.