Change Healthcare’s systems are down for a fourth consecutive day following the revelation from parent company UnitedHealth Group that a suspected cybersecurity threat actor infiltrated a portion of its information technology network on Wednesday.
UnitedHealth, the largest healthcare company in the U.S. based on market capitalization, is the owner of Optum, a healthcare provider that merged with Change Healthcare in 2022. Optum, as per its website, serves over 100 million patients in the U.S., while Change Healthcare specializes in payment and revenue cycle management solutions.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday, UnitedHealth disclosed that it identified a suspected nation-state-associated actor behind the attack. Upon detection of the threat, the company promptly isolated and disconnected the affected systems. However, UnitedHealth did not provide further details regarding the specifics of the attack in the filing.
In an update released around 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Change Healthcare stated that the disruption is anticipated to persist “at least” throughout the day. The company reiterated on Friday its high level of confidence that Optum, UnitedHealthcare, and UnitedHealth systems remained unaffected.
“We are pursuing multiple strategies to restore the impacted environment and are committed to ensuring that we do not compromise on security as we bring our systems back online,” said Change Healthcare on Saturday. Although UnitedHealth did not specify the exact Change Healthcare systems affected by the attack in its regulatory filing, companies like CVS Health reported that the interruption is affecting certain business operations.
CVS Health continues to fulfill prescriptions, but it is experiencing difficulties processing insurance claims in some instances, the company informed CNBC in a statement on Saturday. CVS Health emphasized that there is “no indication” of compromise within its systems. “We remain dedicated to ensuring continued access to care as we navigate through this disruption,” CVS Health stated.
The American Hospital Association issued a statement on Thursday advising healthcare organizations to disconnect from Optum until it is deemed safe to reconnect. The AHA revealed ongoing discussions with the Department of Health and Human Services, the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency regarding the attack.
