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UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) may have paid $22M in bitcoin to a ransomware group to regain access to data and systems that were encrypted during a cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit last month.
Reuters reported late Tuesday that a poster on an online forum frequented by cybercriminals said UnitedHealth paid the ransom to a partner of Blackcat, also known as ALPHV.
While UnitedHealth and Blackcat have not commented on matter, a cryptocurrency tracing firm was able to partially corroborate the claim, Reuters said in its report.
Change’s systems have been off-line since the cyberattack on Feb. 21, causing significant disruptions for hospitals, pharmacies and healthcare providers around the country who rely on its products and services for core administrative tasks such the processing of insurance claims, payments and prescriptions. Change is part of UnitedHealth’s Optum division.
In a note published Tuesday, Citi said that Blackcat was believed to have ties to Russian cybercriminals.
On Tuesday, the American Hospital Association slammed UnitedHealth for not providing enough support to impacted hospitals and healthcare providers, many of which are running short on cash due to their inability to process claims and payments.
Also on Tuesday, the US Department of Health and Human Services said it was taking steps to speed Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals and healthcare providers to help ease the cash crunch.
Citi pointed out in its note on Tuesday that investors need to be reminded that UnitedHealth’s OptumInsight unit, which includes Change, is expected to only contribute around 12% of the company’s earnings for 2024.
Citi added that HCA (HCA) recently commented that the Change cyberattack had no impact on its systems.
“Recent commentary at an investor conference from providers suggested the impact is transitory and is more of a cash flow issue in the near term,” Citi added.
