Almost all US hospitals took financial hit from Change hack, AHA says
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[May 01, 2024]
By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Almost all U.S. hospitals were hurt financially by
the cyberattack on United Health Group’s Change Healthcare unit earlier
this year, according to a survey from the American Hospital Association
(AHA).
The AHA said that 94% of hospitals reported damage to cash flow and more
than half reported significant or serious financial damage due to
Change's inability to process claims.
"While this event had disparate impacts on providers, all communities
felt the effects in some way," the AHA wrote in a letter to leadership
of the U.S. Senate Finance and House Energy and Commerce committees.
The association, which represents almost 5,000 hospitals and healthcare
systems in the United States, sent the letter on Monday ahead of
Wednesday's Congressional hearings on cybersecurity vulnerabilities in
the healthcare sector.
UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is slated to testify before both
committees following weeks of disruption to American healthcare since
the insurer's Change Healthcare unit was hacked.
The hearings follow a security probe by the U.S. government into Change
Healthcare, which operates the country's largest payment management
system for healthcare providers.
On the morning of Feb. 21, the cybercriminal gang AlphV, aka BlackCat,
locked up Change Healthcare's systems and demanded a ransom to unlock
them, Witty will tell the House panel, according to a copy of his
written testimony posted to the panel's website on Monday.
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The corporate logo of the UnitedHealth Group appears on the side of
one of their office buildings in Santa Ana, California, U.S., April
13, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
 UnitedHealth Group has made $6.5
billion in accelerated payments and loans to providers, including
hospitals, since the February attack, the CEO will testify.
The AHA said in a separate announcement on Tuesday that some
providers have had to take out high-interest loans, despite the cash
infusions from the healthcare giant.
"UnitedHealth Group and other insurers have held on to premium
dollars, collecting as-yet unknown amounts of interest on what they
have not paid out to providers," the AHA wrote to Congress on
Monday.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by MIchael Erman)
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