‘We didn’t realize how catastrophic that was’: Change Healthcare cyberattack causes funding issues for nonprofit helping veterans

Trevor Sochocki
·2 min read

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — After his wife died more than a decade ago, Francis Lombardo had questions.

“When she passed away, I was wondering, where would I have to go? Maybe out on my own?” Lombardo recalled.

But the 101-year-old’s daughter said no — he would live at home with her and her husband.

“I couldn’t be more happy because that’s right now,” Lombardo said. “It’s the best thing that happened to me.”

And when he thinks about all the help he receives from his family, Lombardo gets a little emotional.

“I sit in my room and think about how much trouble they go for me,” Lombardo said as his eyes watered. “Makes me feel good.”

The World War II veteran is able to live at home with the help of funds from the Veterans Administration that assist with paying for his various needs.

“It makes it easier for us,” said Francis’s son-in-law, Paul Argus. “Gives us a little bit of more room to work and more options.”

But the VA is billed for that money from the Area Agency on Aging of Pasco-Pinellas (AAAPP), which uses Change Healthcare to do so. One month ago, Change Healthcare was hit with a cyberattack and couldn’t process any billing.

“We didn’t realize how catastrophic that was until we could not enter any information into the system,” Ann Marie Winter, executive director of the AAAPP said.

The nonprofit said it dipped into its reserves to pay $300,000 to veterans for February, and added that it only has enough saved to do that once more at the end of March.

“The longer this goes on, it’s a real financial burden for our agency,” Winter said.

In a statement to 8 On Your Side, United Health Group, the company that owns Change Healthcare, said they are making progress in restoring services.

“We know this has been an enormous challenge for health care providers and we encourage any in need to contact us,” the statement added.

A spokesman said the agency can apply for temporary funding, which the nonprofit said they did yesterday. Winter said it could take three to five business days to hear back on whether or not they got the funding. If that doesn’t happen, she said they may have to take out a line of credit at the bank — either way, she said failure is not an option for the veterans.

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