Senate Finance chair says hearing on Change Healthcare cyberattack is coming

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said a hearing on the Change Healthcare cyberattack that disrupted health care system payments across the country will be coming soon.

Speaking at the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Annual Membership Meeting, Wyden said, “We’ll be heading towards a hearing under the system of how we announce things, you know, we’ll be getting into that here very, very shortly,” when asked about the cybersecurity breach.

“It’s clear that nobody is ready for this,” said Wyden. “We’re going to have to bring in the best minds and people from a variety of systems.”

The attack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, has caused health systems and providers to lose revenue due to unpaid claims. Change Healthcare provides technology used to submit and process insurance claims. A recent survey from the AHA found that 80 percent of practices said they have experienced revenue loss due to unpaid claims.

The Washington Post previously reported that the hearing will take place April 30, with UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty being the sole witness. A company spokesperson also confirmed to Politico that Witty would be testifying. A spokesperson for Senate Finance Democrats did not confirm a hearing when reached for comment by The Hill.

Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was also at the AHA meeting on Monday and emphasized the need to build “resilience” in the U.S. health care system in light of the cyberattack.

“You have this moment where I don’t think people realize just how much the clearinghouses really affected care in this country,” said Brooks-LaSure. “I think it caught many of us off-guard. And while this was a particular cyberattack, it could have been elsewhere.”

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