What You Should Know:
– UnitedHealth Group (UNH) announced continued progress in restoring services disrupted by a recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary that processes a significant portion of healthcare transactions in the United States.
– On March 15, the company restored Change Healthcare’s electronic payments platform and is proceeding with payer implementations. On March 7, the company restored 99% of Change Healthcare pharmacy network services, and continues to work on remaining issues.
Key progress includes:
- Release of Medical Claims Software: Change Healthcare is releasing medical claims preparation software to thousands of customers over the next few days. This is a major step towards resuming normal operations.
- Restored Services: As of March 18th:
- 99% of Change Healthcare’s pharmacy network services are operational.
- The electronic payments platform is restored.
- Payer implementations are ongoing.
- Financial Assistance for Providers:
- To aid providers facing financial hardship due to the attack, UnitedHealth Group has distributed over $2 billion through various initiatives.
- The company is also simplifying the application process for additional funding and has suspended certain requirements for Medicare Advantage plans to ease the burden on providers.
- Care providers can find more information and apply for assistance at https://healthitsecurity.com/news/optum-offers-temporary-funding-assistance-for-change-healthcare-customers.
“We continue to make significant progress in restoring the services impacted by this cyberattack,” said Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group. “We know this has been an enormous challenge for health care providers and we encourage any in need to contact us.”
Financial Assistance for Care Providers
Care providers in need of financial assistance are encouraged to register for the program at www.optum.com/temporaryfunding to view pre-populated funding assistance levels, and recommends those who are in need of additional support or help with eligibility utilize the temporary funding assistance inquiry form or call 1-877-702-3253.
Upcoming Education & Awareness
UnitedHealth Group will host a call with customers, providers, and security teams later today to provide a detailed update. The company has launched educational webinars to assist providers and customers with reconnecting to claims and payment networks and utilizing the temporary funding programs.
