Four months after a crippling cyberattack on a company that manages prescription processing and community provider payments for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the VA continues to address the fallout, with officials saying Tuesday they are taking steps to clear a backlog of payments to pharmacies and medical providers.
A Feb. 21 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group that serves as a clearinghouse for insurance payments and pharmacy prescriptions, disrupted operations at hospitals and clinics nationwide, including the Defense Department and VA.
Immediately following the breach, the VA disconnected its network from the company and reviewed its system for infiltration. Despite the swift action, however, the VA’s community care and non-network providers were affected, generating a backlog of claims and invoices for services and prescriptions.
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The attack disrupted pharmacy services for some veterans but greatly affected the companies that manage VA’s network of community doctors, as well as non-network providers.
The disruption caused a backlog of more than 1 million pharmacy prescriptions and claims, along with 6 million invoices handled by network managers Optum Public Sector Solutions, which is part of UnitedHealth Group, and TriWest Healthcare Alliance.
During a press conference Tuesday,…
