The UnitedHealth System Is Recovering From a Major Cyberattack

(CTN News) – In the wake of last month’s cyberattack on Change Healthcare, UnitedHealth is testing the last major system that has to be restored, but it is unclear when the process will be completed.

On Monday, the health care giant announced that it has begun testing software for submitting medical claims. There has already been a significant improvement in the way pharmacy claims are processed and payments are processed.

Change UnitedHealth technology is used to submit and process insurance claims.

Approximately 14 billion transactions are processed by the company every year, and several insurance companies submit claims to it.

In a statement released last month, the company revealed that some of its information technology systems had been compromised by the ransomware group ALPHV, or Blackcat.

The American Hospital Association describes the cyberattack as “the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the U.S. UnitedHealth care system.” The association stated that disruption from the attack made it difficult for hospitals to provide care, submit insurance claims and receive payment.

Last week, federal civil rights investigators said they would investigate whether protected health information was exposed in the attack.

UnitedHealth announced earlier this month that it had restored nearly the entire prescription processing system for Change Healthcare. Pharmacies use this information to determine how much to charge patients based on their insurance coverage for a prescription.

Change Healthcare restored its electronic payments platform late last week. This platform involves billing and payments between care providers and payers, such as insurers.

As a result of the attacks, UnitedHealth said Monday that it is increasing temporary funding to support doctors and other health care providers. As part of the Medicare program, the federal government also offers temporary, advance payments.

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