The nation’s largest clearinghouse is struggling to recover from a cyberattack reported more than three weeks ago, leaving hospitals and medical providers across the country cash-strapped and frustrated.
A spokesperson with UnitedHealth Group released a statement to Scripps News on the ongoing investigation, saying,"We will cooperate with the Office of Civil Rights investigation. Our immediate focus is to restore our systems, protect data and support those whose data may have been impacted. We are working with law enforcement to investigate the extent of impacted data."
“In the 25 years I've been in the industry, and before that working in my dad's pharmacy, there was never anything like this,” House said. Brad Larsen, a psychologist and the co-owner of Portland Mental Health & Wellness said the money from previous claims has dried up. “Not only will cash begin to dry up, but there's now a backlog of work being created because you have not been able to send claims for three weeks,” Kodiak Solutions revenue cycle team director Matt Szaflarski said.
“We did have a number of hospitals and health systems reporting that they couldn't get through to the payer to get authorization for care, so in some instances that meant that people were staying for example in a hospital longer,” Smith said.