Cyberattack limiting Nevada hospitals, affecting prescriptions, billing, patient records
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A cyberattack affecting health care providers across the country is also affecting operations at Nevada hospitals.
A situation report released Wednesday by the Nevada Hospital Association (NHA) does not name the hospitals affected, but says hospitals and other health care businesses are having “extreme disruptions.” When a system called Change Healthcare was hacked on Feb. 21, the industry disconnected to avoid further criminal cyberattacks. That’s now causing problems in accessing patient information.
Hospitals are having problems processing claims, billing patients and checking insurance coverage, according to the American Hospital Association.
Another immediate impact is prescription delays. Officials from Change Healthcare told The Associated Press most affected pharmacies are using workarounds like writing things down. NHA said it’s affecting the ability to view patient records and the ability to file prescription drug orders — including retail pharmacies.
“These extreme disruptions translate into severe cash flow and compliance problems for hospitals and other healthcare entities. For employees, it translates into not having access to their personal Health Savings Accounts (HSA),” according to NHA’s situation report.
“Most importantly, for patients, it translates into delays in scheduling care, a possible inability to access lifesaving or maintenance medications, and a failure to access their medical records. Without considering the possible release of patient records and personal information, it is estimated that this attack is affecting 1 in 3 hospital patients in the United States,” the situation report said.
And while it’s not preventing hospitals from providing medical treatment, NHA says it’s uncharted territory.
“The Nevada hospital system and infrastructure are in mixed condition, a condition never experienced before,” according to NHA.
The data breach is blamed on AlphV Blackcat, a known cybercriminal organization. Officials are still assessing the damage.
Owned by UnitedHealth Group, Change Healthcare manages health care technology pipelines, processing 14 billion transactions a year. The company said its investigation determined that Change Healthcare, Optum, UnitedHealthcare and UnitedHealth Group systems have been affected.
The company didn’t respond to a question about whether it paid or negotiated a ransom, but a website that reports on cyberattacks said Tuesday that a $22 million extortion payment was made. That halted Blackcat’s plan to publish four terabytes of stolen data online, according to krebsonsecurity.com.
But the danger of that data being published remains.
According to the Krebs report, Blackcat disbanded after the payment, but failed to pay the hackers that stole the data in the first place — and that group claims to still have the sensitive personal data. Blackcat relies on freelancers to infect networks with ransomware, and then pays a commission, usually in the range of 60% to 90% of the ransom.
The U.S. Justice Department said in December 2023 that it had “hacked the hackers” and disrupted Blackcat’s operations. On Feb. 15, it offered a $15 million reward for “information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of any individual conspiring to participate in or attempting to participate in ALPHV/Blackcat ransomware activities.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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