UnitedHealth advanced $2B to providers impacted by cyberattack

UnitedHealth Group in a statement on its website Friday saud it “continues to make progress in mitigating the impact to consumers and care providers of the unprecedented cyberattack on the U.S. health system and the Change Healthcare services, while continuing to expand financial assistance to affected providers.” Change Healthcare began releasing medical claims preparation software on Friday, which will be made available to thousands of customers over the next several days. The company expects to have third-party attestations available prior to services becoming operational. On March 15, the company restored Change Healthcare’s electronic payments platform and is proceeding with payer implementations. To assist care providers whose finances have been disrupted by the cyberattack, UnitedHealth has advanced more than $2B n thus far through multiple initiatives. “The company recognizes the high level of fragmentation of the U.S. health system can result in uneven experiences, therefore it continues to enhance and expand funding support to make it easier for care providers to access funding help at no cost. To further assist care providers, the company also suspended prior authorizations for most outpatient services and utilization review of inpatient admissions for Medicare Advantage plan,” it said.