Revenue Cycle Leaders Share Impact, Insights from Change Healthcare Cyberattack
AHIMA December 2, 2024
When a hacker group launched a ransomware attack this year on Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (UHG) clearinghouse, the healthcare behemoth disconnected and turned off compromised systems to stop the damage.
Overnight, provider and facility reimbursements ceased, and other essential revenue cycle functions went offline. Few backup systems were available, leaving health information (HI) professionals unable to manage their usual responsibilities.
As the nation’s largest electronic data interchange, Change Healthcare processes about half of all medical claims and transmits the associated payer payments to providers. The exchange is also instrumental in verifying patients’ health insurance coverage, generating patient cost estimates, and completing prior authorizations.
UHG has published recovery process updates via its website, including a recently announced credit monitoring program...