Federal civil rights investigators are investigating whether protected health information was exposed. recent cyber attacks About Change Healthcare.
The Office for Civil Rights announced Wednesday that it will also investigate Change Healthcare's compliance with laws protecting patient privacy.
Change Healthcare provides the technology used to submit and process insurance claims, processing approximately 14 billion transactions annually.
Civil Rights Commissioner Melanie Fontes Reiner said in a letter that the investigation was prompted by the “unprecedented scale” of the attack.
The Office for Civil Rights, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, enforces federal regulations that establish privacy and security requirements for patient health information.
UnitedHealth Group, which owns Change Healthcare, said it would cooperate. Spokesman Eric Hausman added that UnitedHealth Group is working with law enforcement to investigate the scope of the attack.
Attackers gained access to some of Change Healthcare's information technology systems last month, disrupting billing and medical authorization systems across the country.
The American Hospital Association recently announced that some patients are experiencing delays in receiving their prescriptions, and hospitals are having problems processing claims, billing patients, and verifying insurance coverage.
Change Healthcare announced Wednesday that all major pharmacies and payment systems are back online. The company announced last week that it plans to begin re-establishing connections to its claims network and software on March 18th.
Late last month, the company announced that ransomware group ALPHV (Blackcat) had carried out the breach.
cyber security experts say Ransomware attacks have increased significantly in recent years, especially in the healthcare sector.
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