Cyberattack on national healthcare company is causing issues

Sun Herald (Biloxi, MS)

Feb. 22—A cybersecurity attack against Change Healthcare led to delays and struggles on Thursday at pharmacies across the nation, and on the Mississippi Coast.

While some Coast pharmacies reported no disruptions, others said the attack had forced some patients to pay out-of-pocket for prescriptions or wait until insurance claims can be processed.

"We're way behind because of it," Riley Baggett, a pharmacist at Love's Pharmacy in Ocean Springs, said Thursday afternoon. He said the problems began Thursday morning, and left staff unable to fully process some claims. It has also made insurance eligibility checks harder and made it more difficult to search for patient information, Baggett said.

Change Healthcare, which is owned by UnitedHealth, told Fox Business on Thursday that it first noticed the problem Wednesday morning and "took immediate action to disconnect our systems to prevent further impact."

The company did not say what led to the cyberattack or what information might have been exposed.

It is also unclear how many Coast pharmacies are impacted.

CVS and Walgreens locations on the Coast directed questions to corporate headquarters, who did not say how many local locations are facing delays. A representative who answered the phone at CVS in Ocean Springs said the pharmacy had been struggling to bill customers on Thursday.

In a statement, CVS said it was aware of the problem but that "there is no indication that CVS Health's systems have been compromised."

On the Coast, "we're continuing to fill prescriptions but in certain cases we are not able to process insurance claims," Shelly Bendit, a senior manager in corporate communications at CVS, said in an email.

Walgreens has faced "no real impact," Marty Maloney, a senior manager for media relations said in an email.

"Our pharmacy operations, and the vast majority of prescriptions are not being impacted by this third-party issue," he said. Walgreens said it would work to fill delayed prescriptions quickly.

Woolmarket Pharmacy in Biloxi was struggling to search for information to bill customers' insurance, technician Jamie Primas said. He was unsure if the issue was related to the cyberattack.

At Butler Pharmacy in Gulfport, owner and pharmacist Rachel Butler said staff have not been able to process some prescriptions since Wednesday. They cannot run claims on Change Healthcare insurance, Butler said, so any patients who get their healthcare through the company cannot get their prescriptions.

She said she has received no information on when the issue will be resolved. About 15% of her customers have been impacted so far, she said.

"The patient either has to wait," she said," or elects to just pay that full co-pay amount."

"We haven't been able to do anything," she added. "Our hands are tied."

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