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Cyber Insights Today June 25, 2024
Hosted by Richard Freiberg
Privacy and Security
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1913940/episodes/15167015
I am Richard Freiberg. Today we will be addressing how American healthcare providers may see their credit hurt following February’s cyberattack on UnitedHealth. according to ratings agency Moody’s. This caused a nationwide disruption to the healthcare system.
The ultimate credit impact on providers will largely depend on the effect of payment delays on cash flow needed to meet expenses. Providers that rely solely on Change cannot file for claims, while larger providers using more than one system can offset the impact.
Although UnitedHealth ended up restoring Change’s claims network and software about a month and provided very limited funding to health providers affected by the cyberattack, Moody’s said the incident would be “credit negative” for the company.
In response to the breach, the federal government also took limited action to support hospitals and healthcare providers impacted by the hack. And, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), took steps to expedite Medicare and Medicaid payments to those affected.
Yet, concerns persist in the healthcare space, with industry groups like the American Hospital Association (AHA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) voicing concerns that the overall measures fall short of addressing the full scale of the crisis.
This crisis is part of a broader pattern. In 2023, cyberattacks on the U.S. health system increased in both volume and sophistication, with health facilities being hit by 226 digital attacks impacting millions in the first half of the year alone.
These types of attacks aren’t just confined to the health space. For example, LoanDepot suffered a data breach that affected 16.9 million customers. Moving and storage company U-Haul also reported that it had suffered a data breach affecting around 67,000 of its customers in North America.
Other recent breaches struck Sony-owned video-game studio Insomniac and VF Corporation, the owner of Vans, The North Face, Timberland and Dickies, which disrupted ability to fulfill holiday season orders.
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DON’T BECOME ANOTHER STATISTIC
Richard Freiberg
Profitability Consultant
Richard Freiberg CPA PC
Phone (980)339-3352
Cell (914)393-0033
www.rmfreibergcpa.com
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