PriyaPatel
TLDR:
Providers are facing financial pressures due to a cyberattack on Change Healthcare, causing reimbursement systems to be down. Smaller practices may have to close if the outage continues.
Small private practices and health-care providers are struggling financially as reimbursement systems remain down for the ninth day following the cyberattack on Change Healthcare. The outage has left providers unable to check patients’ eligibility for treatment or fill prescriptions electronically, increasing administrative responsibility and causing revenue cycles to halt. Smaller practices relying on reimbursement cash flow are making tough decisions to stay afloat, with potential closures if the outage continues. The cyberattack has been attributed to the ransomware group Blackcat, causing concerns about patient care and financial stability for providers. The uncertainty of when systems will be back online is adding stress for providers, who are considering various contingency plans to keep their practices running.
Dr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, president of the American Medical Association, has highlighted the financial vulnerability of smaller practices that operate on thin margins, emphasizing the risk of practices going out of business if the outage persists. The cyberattack on Change Healthcare, which merged with Optum in 2022, has raised questions about the potential impact on patient care, competition, and overall stability of the healthcare system. The ongoing outage underscores the importance of cybersecurity in healthcare and the need for providers to have robust contingency plans in place to mitigate financial and operational disruptions.
