UnitedHealth to take up to $1.6 billion hit this year from Change hack

UnitedHealth Group said on Tuesday it expects the hack of its Change Healthcare unit to cost the company up to $1.6 billion this year but maintained its 2024 earnings forecast, suggesting a less severe impact of the cyberattack than many on Wall Street had feared.

UnitedHealth Group said on Tuesday it expects the hack of its Change Healthcare unit to cost the company up to $1.6 billion this year but maintained its 2024 earnings forecast, suggesting a less severe impact of the cyberattack than many on Wall Street had feared.

Despite the massive disruptions, the healthcare conglomerate beat estimates for first-quarter earnings as medical costs dropped from higher rates hit late last year, sending its shares up 5.3%. Through Monday’s close, United shares had fallen nearly 15% since it disclosed the ransomware attack on Feb. 21.

UnitedHealth’s upbeat results drove up the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday. Shares of some rival health insurers including Elevance, CVS Health and Humana were also up, with Humana climbing more than 2%.

The hack at Change, a provider of healthcare billing and data systems and a key node in the U.S. healthcare system, disrupted payments to doctors and healthcare facilities nationwide for a month while taking a harsh toll on community health centers that serve more than 30 million poor and uninsured patients.

The health insurer relaxed, or removed, prior authorization processes for some claims following the hack, stoking concerns of an increase in medical costs. Executives said on Tuesday that these have recently been reinstated.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/unitedhealth-take-16-billion-hit-year-change-hack-rcna148174

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