Change cyberattack relief funding overpaid many hospitals: study

Healthcare DIVE December 9, 2025
Emily Olsen

But more than 300 hospitals didn’t participate in the CMS’ relief program, even though they faced financial disruption — and were more likely to be small and rural facilities.

Dive Brief:

• The CMS overpaid many hospitals in a relief program during the Change Healthcare cyberattack last year, while missing hundreds of hospitals that also faced significant financial disruption, according to a study published last week in Health Affairs.
• The federal government distributed $3.3 billion to Medicare providers in early 2024 as payments were disrupted by the attack on the UnitedHealth-owned payment processor and technology firm, the research found.
• But most hospitals received payments that exceeded their Medicare revenue loss during the first six weeks of the cyberattack,...

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