Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Experts Say Health Industry Isn't Spending Enough On Cybersecurity
Modern Healthcare: Cybersecurity Spending Too Low To Prevent Another Change Breach
Healthcare’s lack of investment in cybersecurity is in the spotlight as the Change Healthcare breach continues to disrupt the industry. ... Cybersecurity professionals are sounding the alarm on future attacks if healthcare organizations don't start putting more financial resources into protecting their data. “The landscape has changed. The threats are higher,” said David Ting, chief technology officer and founder of cybersecurity company Tausight. “We should be going to DEFCON 2.” (Turner, 3/19)
The Washington Post: After Years Of Ransomware Attacks, Health-Care Defenses Still Fail
Federal officials and industry executives have known for years that the U.S. health-care system was one of the critical industries most vulnerable to hacking but failed to make the improvements that might have stopped attacks like the one that has crippled pharmacists and other medical providers for three weeks. The danger was obvious in 2021, when ransomware gangs struck hospitals already overwhelmed by the covid-19 pandemic, forcing some to divert incoming emergency patients to other facilities and potentially contributing to deadly treatment delays. Menn, 3/19)
Stat: UnitedHealth Increases Loan Offers After Change Healthcare Outage
UnitedHealth Group appears to be offering some providers more substantial loans in the wake of the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, according to three doctors who each saw their advances increase up to seven figures. (Trang and Bannow, 3/19)
Modern Healthcare: Change Breach Offers Competitors Waystar, Availity An Opportunity
UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare has restored some of its system a month after a catastrophic cyberattack crippled it and much of the nation's healthcare infrastructure, but the recovery process is only just beginning. Other companies offering revenue cycle management are gaining traction amid the Change outage, filling in service gaps left by a dominant player that likely won't be operating normally for weeks. (Hudson and Berryman, 3/19)
