According to WBUR, a Feb. 21 cyber attack on Change Healthcare, an electronic payment and medical claim platform, is costing Massachusetts-based healthcare providers who used the platform “$24 million a day.”
In a statement on March 5, American Hospital Association President and CEO Rick Pollack called the attack “the most significant and consequential incident of its kind against the U.S. health care system in history.”
Pollack continued, highlighting just some ways the attack has interrupted normal operations for what the AHA estimates is 94% of all United States hospitals.
“For nearly two weeks, this attack has made it harder for hospitals to provide patient care, fill prescriptions, submit insurance claims, and receive payment for the essential health care services they provide,” Pollack said.
In Massachusetts, Mass Collaborative has set up a website and hotline “to assist providers with setting up alternate electronic data interchange services to file claims.”
According to Mass Health & Hospital Association, “71% of Massachusetts hospital health systems are currently experiencing negative operating margins, according to the Center for Health Information and Analysis.”
According to a survey by the AHA, “More than 80% of hospitals said the cyberattack has affected their cash flow, and of those nearly 60% report that the impact to revenue is $1 million per day or more. In addition, the survey found that 74% of hospitals reported impacts to direct patient care as a result of the cyberattack.”