Senator Hassan Secures Relief for New Hampshire Hospitals from UnitedHealth Following Cybersecurity Attack; Pledges to Continue Oversight

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) announced that she has secured relief from UnitedHealth Group for hospitals in New Hampshire who are facing severe cash flow challenges after a cyberattack took down a payment platform offered by Change Healthcare, which is owned by UnitedHealth Group. The cyberattack has interrupted cash flow and jeopardized many hospitals’ ability to stay financially afloat and continue serving patients long-term.

 
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 percent of their cash flow disappear as a result of the hack.

The updates that UnitedHealth made to its terms and conditions for assistance following Senator Hassan’s advocacy are available here. In addition to this improved financial assistance program from UnitedHealth Group, Senator Hassan also helped secure approval for aid through Medicare for at least one New Hampshire hospital that was impacted by the hack. In November 2023, Senator Hassan helped launch a bipartisan working group to strengthen cybersecurity in the health care and public health sectors. Senator Hassan worked to pass into law her measure to create a Cybersecurity Coordinator in every state to help federal, state, and local governments, as well as schools, hospitals, and other entities, coordinate and better protect their systems against cyberattacks.
 
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