A key pharmacy organization along with dozens of providers have filed a class action lawsuit over the cyberattack on Change Healthcare that caused significant disruption across healthcare.
The National Community Pharmacists Association leads the lawsuit, which was filed late Friday against UnitedHealth Group, Optum and Change. The goal is to recover losses incurred due to the attack's disruptive effects. NCPA and the provider plaintiffs also argue that Change did not take "reasonable precautions" to defend against such a breach.
The lawsuit alleges that Change clients were thereby misled about the company's network security and then when the attack led to significant financial losses, they were never reimbursed for services as they tried to navigate the downed system.
B. Douglas Hoey, NCPA CEO, said in a press release that the organization opposed UnitedHealth's acquisition of Change Healthcare from the get-go, and that the breach "proves that bigger is not better."
“UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries need to be held accountable for their lax security measures and for their failure to provide our members with adequate support and assurances to alleviate the financial losses our members suffered," Hoey said. "Companies are so big they cannot protect every entry point and cannot respond quickly due to internal bureaucracy. The fact issues remain unresolved is a testament to this point. This breach has cost our members a significant amount of money and time and it is still not resolved months later.”
UnitedHealth Group had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.
When the breach was identified, Change Healthcare was disconnected from clients as well as the rest of UnitedHealth Group to avoid further spread. In the lawsuit, the providers and pharmacies allege that UHG did this without offering them a workable alternative, cutting off claims processing and reimbursement.
Since the breach, UnitedHealth has paid out $9 billion in advanced payments and interest-free loans to providers, according to its second-quarter earnings last week.
“Community pharmacies incurred the losses because they wouldn’t let their patients suffer,” Hoey said. “Senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses were especially vulnerable. They can’t afford to pay out of pocket for drugs that can cost thousands of dollars because a medical billing firm left itself vulnerable."
“It wouldn’t have been fair to patients, and it isn’t fair to leave pharmacies holding the bag.”