HCMA ALERT CALL TO ACTION

NEWS OF LEGISLATIVE, REGULATORY, AND OTHER MATTERS OF INTEREST TO HARTFORD COUNTY PHYSICIANS

100 Beard Sawmill Road, Suite 109, Shelton, CT 06484

Tel: 203-513-2045 | Fax: 203-513-8036 | www.HCMA.org

March 5, 2024

UnitedHealth Group Establishes Temporary Assistance Program

UnitedHealth Group has set up a temporary financial assistance program for physicians and other providers who have been unable to receive payments due to a cyberattack against its technology subsidiary Change Healthcare. 



The program, furnished through Optum Financial Services, allows physicians who receive payments processed by Change to apply for temporary funding based on prior claims volume, according to the company. The funds will need to be repaid after standard operations resume.

The cyberattack on Change has disabled key functions of the healthcare sector for nearly two weeks, disrupting billing, eligibility checks, prior authorization requests and prescription fulfillment. The company, which was acquired by insurer UnitedHealth’s Optum segment in 2022, processes billions of healthcare transactions each year.

Change first reported the outage on Feb. 21. Last week, the company said AlphV, also known as Blackcat — a ransomware group that has targeted the healthcare industry — had taken responsibility for the attack.

Some medical groups have been unable to receive and finalize payments from insurers and patients, which could become a major cash flow challenge particularly for smaller providers. 

Click here for information about Optum’s Temporary Assistance Funding Program.