Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group since 2022 and its Optum Solutions division, is a payment exchange platform used broadly by health care providers and was the victim of a cyberattack on February 21. Optum reports that once the attack was identified it disconnected the Change Healthcare platform from its other systems thereby containing the threat.

“This action was taken so our customers and partners do not need to [disconnect],” said Optum. “We have a high level of confidence that Optum, United Healthcare, and UnitedHealth Group systems have not been affected by this issue.”

Nonetheless, some health care providers have opted to actively disconnect themselves from the platform out of an abundance of caution. Given the role of the platform in processing claims, some providers have reported they are unable to submit claims for payment or services at this time. Optum indicated it is continuing to work to restore the “impacted environment” and expects the disruption to continue through at least Friday, February 23.

Follow Optum updates on the Change Healthcare cyberattack here.

LeadingAge members who experience a disruption to their claims processing, prior authorization requests, or other issues related to this attack can report them to Nicole Fallon (nfallon@leadingage.org) and we will share them with CMS as appropriate.

The LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST) has Cybersecurity Resources to assist members in protecting their systems, as well as a list of LeadingAge business partners who can assist members in addressing their cybersecurity needs.