A survey published by the American Hospital Association found that 94% of hospitals have experienced financial disruptions from the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Jackson Health System in Miami was one of the hospitals affected.
UnitedHealth disclosed nearly a month ago that a cyber threat actor breached part of Change Healthcare’s information technology network. Change Healthcare offers e-prescription software and tools for payment management, and the interruptions left many providers temporarily unable to fill medications or get reimbursed for their services by insurers.
“When hospitals don’t get paid for the services they provide, that affects their ability to pay their doctors, nurses and their other staff, to sustain 24/7 operations and timely access to healthcare,” said Mary Mayhew, the Florida Hospital Association’s president and CEO.
The FHA represents over 200 hospitals in Florida, providing service and support focused on advancing healthcare policy at the state and federal level. The association also serves as a convener to support best practices, quality improvement and response to emergencies like this cyberattack.
Jackson Health System and its IT department were notified of the attack on Feb. 20 and immediately cut all access to any Change Healthcare team and disconnected the software that was purchased from the organization.
“We were not sure what was happening on their end, and whomever had done this to them could very easily get access through their system into ours,” said Myriam Torres, the Chief Revenue Officer for Jackson Health System. “IT has a whole set of protocols, and immediately the one thing they do is remove access.”
As of now, patients are not being affected. The current impact lies on the payer’s side with their inability to process the hospital’s claims. As time goes on, weeks of insurance claims are building up, and according to Mayhew, it is expected that hospitals will be owed…
