Fast, Easy, and Secure: Submit Claim Attachments Electronically

In the last year, Highmark has rolled out two enhancements that enable providers to eliminate the need for paper claim attachments:

• Attachments Enabled When Submitting New Claims in Availity – April 18, 2025
• Highmark Now Accepting 275 Claim Attachments via EDI – Jan. 23, 2026

With these upgrades, providers can submit claim attachments electronically either through Availity Essentials or Highmark Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) using a trading partner or practice management vendor. Delivery is nearly instantaneous — a matter of seconds instead of days or weeks. Correct claims are processed and paid quickly.

Electronic claims and claim attachments are transmitted through secure, encrypted channels, protecting sensitive patient and financial information.

It’s Time to Say Goodbye to Paper Claims and Claim Attachments

In 2025, Highmark processed more than 1.6 million paper claims. This represents a significant opportunity for providers — especially heavy users of paper claims — to cut costs in terms of supplies (paper, envelopes, etc.), printing, postage, and most of all, administrative work.

Case Study – Improved Processing Time

Recently, a health care system made the switch from mailing paper claims to submitting those claims electronically. The organization’s claims are now processed on average 11 days faster. But it’s actually faster than that, since paper claims can take 3-6 business days before reaching Highmark. In total, this provider is now getting paid three weeks earlier by upgrading to electronic claims.

More Reasons to Stop Submitting Paper Claims and Claim Attachments

• High Rejection Rates: Paper claims are prone to manual entry errors (e.g., misspelled names, missing information), which lead to high rejection rates and additional payment delays.
• Lost Claims: Physical mail can be lost or misplaced, requiring time-consuming resubmissions.
• Lack of Tracking: Without a reliable tracking mechanism, the status of paper claims remains opaque, making financial forecasting difficult.
• Cash Flow Delays: The manual nature of mailing and processing paper claims and claim attachments directly contributes to longer reimbursement cycles, negatively affecting cash flow.

EDI Resources

Do you use a trading partner or practice management vendor? Go to our regional EDI sites to learn more about enabling electronic claim attachments:

• Delaware
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• West Virginia