4/23/2024

UnitedHealth Group's Optum Virtual Care is shutting down, Endpoints News reported April 24.

News of the closure of the company's telehealth business came shortly after Optum employees took to social media beginning April 18 regarding a reduction in force they say occurred across the organization.

"Virtual care has been and will continue to be a core part of our comprehensive, integrated care delivery model designed to provide care to people where, when and how they prefer," an Optum spokesperson told Becker's. "We continually review the capabilities and services we offer to meet the growing and evolving needs of our businesses and the people we serve. As always, we will support affected team members with job placement resources and seek to deploy them where possible to any open roles within the company."

4/23/2024

Change Healthcare says data stolen by hackers in a February cyberattack likely covers a "substantial proportion of people in America."

The UnitedHealth Group claims processing subsidiary said April 22 an initial sampling of the breached data shows it comprises protected health information and personally identifiable information from a large swath of the country. Change processes about 15 billion healthcare transactions annually, handling 1 in 3 patient records.

4/23/2024

UnitedHealth Group admitted to paying ransom in an attempt to protect patient data stolen during the February cyberattack against its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, according to a CNBC report.

UnitedHealth did not specify the amount paid in the ransom, but earlier this year Reuters reported the cybercriminal group claiming responsibility for the attack received $22 million in bitcoins. At the time, UnitedHealth did not address the payment but instead said the company was focused on "investigation and recovery."

4/22/2024

A merger between Humana and Cigna could still be in the cards according to one analyst, Bloomberg reported April 22. 

"The math now works for a [Cigna and Humana] fusion," Jeffries analyst David Windley wrote April 22. Since the two companies abandoned a proposed merger in December, Cigna's stock prices have risen by 37% and Humana is down 31%, according to Bloomberg. 

Cigna could strike a deal to acquire Humana for around $420 per share, Mr. Windley wrote in a note to clients. An acquisition would add to Cigna's growth if it does not pay more than $470 per share for the company, according to Jeffries.

UnitedHealth Group posts $1.4B loss in Q1 amid Change cyberattack fallout

4/16/2024

(Rev Cycle Intelligence )

UnitedHealth Group released its first-quarter earnings Tuesday morning as the industry continues to reel from the massive cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit.

UHG reported a loss of $1.4 billion in the quarter, compared to $5.6 billion in profit for the first quarter of 2023. Revenues reached $99.8 billion, up from $91.9 billion in the prior-year quarter. The hack was a major factor in the company's performance, along with the sale of its Brazil-based business Amil, which drove $7 billion charge in the quarter.

Nearly 4 of 5 physicians employed by hospitals, corporations

4/16/2024

( Fierce Healthcare )
Widespread consolidation in healthcare is affecting physicians, according to a new report from the Physicians Advocacy Institute (PAI) and Avalere Health.

The report analyzed updated data from IQVIA OneKey database which contains physician and practice location information on hospital/health system ownership. The data showed that more than three-quarters of US physicians (77.6%) were employed by hospitals, health systems, and other corporate entities as of January 1, 2024, a stark difference from over ten years ago when just about a quarter of physicians (25.8%) were employed by hospitals and health systems.

4/15/2024

Hackers leaked contracts and patient records purportedly stolen in the Change Healthcare cyberattack, TechCrunch reported April 15.

Ransomware group RansomHub posted files on its dark web leak site April 15 comprising personal and protected health information on patients whose data was taken in the Change hack, according to the story. The files also include contracts and agreements between Change and its clients. It marked the first time hackers have posted data from the cyberattack.

Another ransomware group is seeking a payout from Change Healthcare, according to cybersecurity analysts

4/8/2024

( Fierce Healthcare )
After the hackers responsible for the cyberattack on Change Healthcare took the ransom and ran in a reported exit scam, cybersecurity experts have found a new post that is seeking a payout from UnitedHealth Group to recover the data.

A post from RansomHub claims to have four terabytes of data stolen from Change, according to analyst Dominic Alvieri. The listing alleges that the administration of BlackCat, or ALPHV, stole a $22 million ransom payment made to recover the data.

Neither UnitedHealth nor Optum have confirmed that the payment was made, but researchers have identified payment logs that suggest the money changed hands.

CMS releases tool to help hospitals with price transparency

4/2/2024

(Rev Cycle Intelligence )

CMS recently released a web-based validation tool that assists hospitals with price transparency compliance.

The updated V2.0 Online Validator Tool helps hospitals develop machine-readable files to comply with a federal price transparency regulation that went into effect in 2021. The regulation requires, among other obligations, hospitals to publicly post a machine-readable file containing standard charges for all services and items. The standard charges include gross charges, payer-specific negotiated rates, de-identified minimum and maximum negotiated rates and discounted cash prices.

4/1/2024

CMS finalized a slight decrease in Medicare Advantage benchmark payments for 2025. 

The agency published its final rate notice for 2025 April 1. The final rule was largely similar to CMS' proposed payment rates issued in January. The agency will cut benchmark payments by 0.16% from 2024 to 2025.

CMS estimated plans will see 3.7% higher revenue overall in 2025. MA risk score trend of 3.86% — the average increase in risk adjustment payments year over year — will offset risk model revisions that will lead to a 2.45% decline in revenue and a projected decline in star rating bonuses, according to the agency.