SALT LAKE CITY — A full-time working mom of two, Ciara Perry went to the pharmacy to pick up her cancer medications Wednesday and was told they couldn’t verify her insurance.
“They were telling me that what I could do is to pay out of pocket, which is thousands of dollars for chemo medications,” she said.
The Medicaid pharmacy vendor ‘Optum’ shut down their systems due to a cyber attack on Wednesday, according to Jennifer Strohecker, the state Medicaid director for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
“Our pharmacy team could not access any pharmacy information,” she said. “We couldn't process pharmacy claims, we couldn't price any overrides or do any prior authorizations.”
Not only is the cyber attack hurting the people who need the medication, but it’s also taking a hit on the pharmacies that supply it.
“I have been a pharmacist since 2006,” said Kaleem Mohammed, a pharmacist at Olive Pharmacy. “I have not seen something like this.”
Pharmacies that fill a lot of Medicaid prescriptions will see a significant impact on revenue, he said.
Mohammed wishes there was a backup for when systems take a hit like this.
“There should be a system which can be up and running in two hours of the cyber attack, or something like that,” he said.
The DHHS is now asking pharmacies to not charge Medicaid members, and they’ve created a way for pharmacies to get reimbursed directly from the Medicaid program.
“It is our top priority that members are able to receive the medications that they need,” said Strohecker.
