A Feb. 21 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare has crippled electronic billing systems nationwide, leaving doctors unable to process payments for weeks. The attack on UnitedHealth's subsidiary is being called "the most significant incident of its kind" against U.S. healthcare.
Doctors like Margaret Parsons in Sacramento can't bill electronically, while paper claims take months to process. Miami's Jackson Health System faces $30 million in lost payments if outages continue. Relief efforts have fallen short—one Long Island physician was offered just $540 weekly for a practice earning hundreds of thousands monthly.
Reports suggest hackers received $22 million in bitcoin, potentially encouraging future attacks. UnitedHealth says core systems won't be restored until later this month, highlighting dangerous vulnerabilities in America's healthcare infrastructure.
Source: CBS News