UnitedHealth Group said it hopes to have much of Change Healthcare systems back up and running by mid-March, weeks after a ransomware attack took out the nation’s largest healthcare claims payment processing firm.
“We are committed to providing relief for people affected by this malicious attack on the U.S. health system,” said Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, in a statement. “All of us at UnitedHealth Group feel a deep sense of responsibility for recovery and are working tirelessly to ensure that providers can care for their patients and run their practices, and that patients can get their medications. We’re determined to make this right as fast as possible.”
The health insurer said it is “working aggressively” on restoring systems and services. Electronic prescribing is functional as of March 7 for both pharmacy claim submission and payments, according to the statement. Electronic payment functionality is targeted to be available as of March 15. Testing of the medical claim processing systems is set for March 18 with service expected to be restored throughout the week.
UHG urged medical providers and payers to use workarounds already set up, and as of March 1, the firm launched a temporary funding program to assist customers with short-term cash flow.
UnitedHealth Group acquired Change Healthcare through its Optum subsidiary in 2022.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also intervened earlier this week, announcing that the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) would streamline the approval process for healthcare providers to switch payment processing clearinghouses, as well as accept requests for accelerated payments.
“This incident is a reminder of the interconnectedness of the domestic health care ecosystem and of the urgency of strengthening cybersecurity resiliency across the ecosystem,” said HHS in a statement.