Change Healthcare hack continues to inflict major damage

According to lawyer Sara Goldstein of the law firm BakerHostetler, the Change Healthcare massive attack has caused approximately 120 of the company’s IT products and services to go offline since February 21. This cyber disruption substantially and extensively affects the whole healthcare business, including major companies. The cybercriminals claimed to be from BlackCat/Alphv.

From eligibility checks and prior authorization to pharmacy benefits and claims processing, Change Healthcare, a division of Optum, a UnitedHealth Group company, offers a broad range of vital IT tools to healthcare sector enterprises. The company conducts 15 billion healthcare transactions every year.

The devastating effects of cybercrime

“So the amount, the volume of information that’s transferred to them and that’s transferred out, as well the role that they have in healthcare is tremendous. The impact of this has been substantial,” said Goldstein. She went on to say, “Many healthcare providers cannot process claims, payments, or do patient billing. Without these services and being able to generate revenue, it’s really going to create a precarious financial situation for many healthcare systems and healthcare providers.”

350,000 doctors and 15,000 group medical practices are represented by the Medical Group Management Association, which pushed the US Department of Health and Human Services to “utilize all the tools at its disposal to mitigate these impacts, so medical groups do not have to take drastic actions to remain in operation.” The HHS was told by the MGMA that “guidance, financial resources, enforcement discretion, and more are needed to avoid escalating an already serious situation.”

The downside of large companies consolidation

Goldstein said that organizations with no contractual relationship with Change Healthcare are also affected. She continued, “One thing that is being flagged is about the downside of consolidation of these types of vendors in healthcare. So, that has been a challenge. This is pretty catastrophic.”

Cybercrime affects everyone.

Here is the Goldstein interview from Inforisktoday.com.

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