In the second quarter, UnitedHealth reported a profit of $4.2 billion, down from $5.5 billion the previous year, primarily due to the cyberattack’s costs. Despite this, the company’s revenue increased by nearly 7% to $98.9 billion. The attack disrupted a large portion of the U.S. healthcare payment processing, affecting the data of an estimated one-third of Americans.
UnitedHealth paid a $22 million ransom to the attackers, although this did not prevent some patient data from being leaked on the dark web. The company has since restored most affected services, but the financial and operational repercussions continue to be significant. UnitedHealth has begun notifying consumers whose data was breached, following federal guidance.
The cyberattack has also led to increased medical costs for UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division of UnitedHealth. The company’s medical loss ratio rose to 85.1% in the second quarter, up from 83.2% the previous year. This increase is partly due to pausing utilization reviews and prior authorizations in the wake of the attack, which led to higher provider coding intensity.
UnitedHealth is also facing regulatory scrutiny from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission over its business practices, particularly concerning competition and drug pricing.
Source: Cybersecurity Dive
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