UnitedHealth Sent $2B to Doctors, Hospitals After Change Hack

UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it advanced more than $2 billion to medical providers after a cyberattack on the company’s Change Healthcare subsidiary last month halted billions of dollars in medical payments.

Health-insurance industry leaders are meeting with US officials Monday morning to address bottlenecks in the payments system since the ransomware attack brought down crucial networks on Feb. 21.

UnitedHealth and its rivals face growing calls from politicians and medical providers to escalate relief efforts for hospitals and doctors facing cash-flow interruptions. Some other insurers have said they’re using alternative systems and have little trouble paying claims. Some providers say they’re only seeing a fraction of their typical payments and have called UnitedHealth’s assistance inadequate.

UnitedHealth has already been hit with at least six class action lawsuits accusing it of failing to protect millions of people’s personal data.

UnitedHealth, which also operates the largest US health insurer, said it’s making progress bringing systems back online, with a payments platform restored as of March 15, according to a statement on the company’s website. It’s unclear how long a broader return will take. The company said it’s releasing new software to thousands of customers this week.