U.S. health officials urged insurance companies to take immediate steps to ease a digital logjam after a massive data hack that snarled administrative functions for hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and millions of patients.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services asked insurers Tuesday to waive prior authorizations and Medicare’s contractors to accept paper bills from doctors and hospitals. These temporary measures aim to address administrative problems that have emerged from the data hack of an influential company owned by UnitedHealth Group.
On Feb. 21, Change Healthcare, a property of UnitedHealth Group, disclosed that hackers had disrupted operations for the company that processes 15 billion health-related transactions a year. Change Healthcare operates a digital “clearinghouse” that connects doctors, hospitals and other health providers with insurance companies that pay for medical care and authorize medical services. Since news of the hack became public last month, doctors and hospitals have been unable to bill for some services and patients have had trouble picking up prescriptions.
Last Thursday, UnitedHealth Group said a ransomware group known as ALPHV or Blackcat was responsible for the attack that disrupted billing and care authorization systems nationwide.
In a statement Tuesday, HHS said it expected UnitedHealth to do “everything in its power to ensure continuity of operations” for doctors, hospitals and other health providers. HHS also pushed companies…
