- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-03-14T19:45:00
Change Healthcare, a health payment processor hit by a crippling cyberattack in February, is under investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR).
In an open letter intended for hospitals and healthcare offices published Wednesday, OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said the agency was investigating whether Change Healthcare violated Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules by not following breach notification requirements and properly safeguarding patient information.
Change Healthcare, a unit of Optum, which is owned by insurer UnitedHealth Group (UHG), processes 15 billion financial and other transactions annually for healthcare entities nationwide, from hospitals to pharmacies. The massive attack the company endured on Feb. 21 has meant health entities across the country have not been able to process electronic payments and records.
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UnitedHealth Group’s response to a major cyberattack in February that wreaked havoc with medical payments nationwide has been “inadequate” and must be improved immediately, a group of 22 state attorneys general told the company.
The massive cyberattack on Change Healthcare has potentially compromised the personal and protected health information of an untold number of Americans, according to parent company UnitedHealth Group.
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