Barrasso Demands Solutions for Rural Hospitals Hit by Major Cyberattack

The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance held a hearing Wednesday on assessing the Change Healthcare cyberattack. Sheridan Media’s Ron Richter has the details.

The cyberattack that occurred in February is the largest healthcare cyberattack to ever occur and it is still affecting health care providers across the United States. The attack disrupted health care services, compromised patients’ personal data, and imposed financial losses on health care providers – particularly rural hospitals and small medical practices. U.S. Senator John Barrasso at Wednesday’s Senate Committee on Finance hearing, questioned UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty on the cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. Barrasso specifically addressed the cyberattack’s impact on Sheridan Memorial Hospital.

Barrasso pressed Witty on whether Change Healthcare is addressing claim processing issues, improving security measures with multi-factor authentication, and protecting small medical practices from devastating financial liability in the future. The cyberattack in February prevented millions of healthcare claims in the U.S. from being filed with insurance firms, which included claims originating from Sheridan Memorial Hospital. The Federal Government launched an investigation into UnitedHealth Group and Change Healthcare to determine whether a breach of protected health information occurred and to review the companies’ compliance with patient-privacy regulations.