Senator Hassan Secures Commitment for Aid Today to NH Hospitals from UnitedHealth Group After Nationwide
Some NH Hospitals Have Seen 98% of their Cash Flow Disappear Following Hack, Threatening Ability to Continue to Care for Patients
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) secured a commitment today from the CEO of UnitedHealth Group – the parent company of Change Healthcare, which is facing a cyberattack – to provide cash aid to hospitals and doctors who need it without any unfair or risky terms. The commitment follows a push by Senator Hassan earlier this week, calling out UnitedHealth group on the inadequacy of its existing aid programs for hospitals, as well as conversations in which Senator Hassan raised the urgency of the issue with President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Senator Hassan met this morning with Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group.
“Mr. Witty and I had what I would call a constructive conversation this morning,” Senator Hassan said at a Senate Finance Committee hearing today with HHS Secretary Becerra. “UnitedHealth Group has made new commitments to provide cash aid today to the providers in my state who need it – without any unfair or risky terms.”
As Senator Hassan discussed with Secretary Becerra, in the coming days both the Senator and the Department of Health and Human Services will be working with hospitals to ensure that UnitedHealth keeps those commitments.
Change Healthcare processes health insurance payments for many health care providers across the country, including four Critical Access Hospitals in New Hampshire. Following a February 21 cyberattack on Change Healthcare, many hospitals, doctors, and other health care-related businesses in NH and across the country have not received any insurance payments, threatening their ability to operate.
Several hospitals in New Hampshire have seen as much as 98% of their cash flow disappear as a result of the hack. In recent days, Senator Hassan raised directly with President Biden, the HHS Secretary, and UnitedHealth the need to help providers – in particular rural hospitals. In addition to today’s commitment from UnitedHealth Group to provide aid, Senator Hassan also helped secure approval for aid through Medicare for at least one New Hampshire hospital that was impacted by the hack.
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