UnitedHealth Group reports significant strides in mitigating the effects of the cyberattack on the U.S. health system and the Change Healthcare infrastructure. Efforts focus on ensuring seamless access to care and medications for consumers and providers impacted by the attack.
CEO Andrew Witty emphasizes the commitment to providing relief for affected individuals, with a focus on enabling providers to continue patient care and facilitating access to medications.
Key Actions and Timelines for System Restoration:
- Pharmacy services: Electronic prescribing fully operational, with claim submission and payment transmission now available. Optum Rx pharmacies are ensuring medication access for patients until full system restoration.
- Payments platform: Electronic payment functionality to be accessible for connection by March 15.
- Medical claims: Testing and connectivity restoration for claims network and software to begin on March 18, with service restoration through the week.
Continued Support for Community-Based Providers:
- Optum launched a Temporary Funding Assistance Program on March 1 to aid providers facing short-term cash flow challenges due to payment processing disruptions.
- UnitedHealthcare will offer further funding solutions for medical, dental, and vision providers, advancing funds representing the difference between historical and post-attack payment levels. Repayment will be deferred until claims processing resumes.
- Optum extends funding assistance to providers who have exhausted all connection options and whose payers haven’t provided advances during the system downtime. This expansion caters to small and regional providers on a case-by-case basis.
Both funding programs have no associated costs for assistance, with repayment invoices issued once standard payment operations resume, allowing a 30-day repayment window. Providers can register for funding assistance through Optum Pay accounts.
