UnitedHealth Advances $2 Billion to Providers After Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

UnitedHealth Group has distributed over $2 billion in advance payments to healthcare providers impacted by a cybersecurity breach at Change Healthcare, a crucial entity in the U.S. medical claims processing network. The attack on February 21 disrupted services for approximately 900,000 physicians, 33,000 pharmacies, 5,500 hospitals, and 600 laboratories, which rely on Change Healthcare for about half of the medical claims in the United States. UnitedHealth announced the phased rollout of its medical claims software, beginning Monday, aiming to reach thousands of customers within days. After a period of service disruptions following the cyberattack, the company has restored its payment processing and pharmacy network services. It plans to continue re-establishing remaining services for all customers. To alleviate the situation, UnitedHealth temporarily waived specific insurance approval requirements for outpatient services and inpatient admissions under Medicare Advantage plans.

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[Source: Reuters, March 19th, 2024]