ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Providers need to be compensated for losses incurred as the result of massive cyberattack earlier this year, the National Community Pharmacists Association argues in a new lawsuit.
The association, along with dozens of providers from multiple states, filed a class action lawsuit July 19 against UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries Change Healthcare and Optum.
“Our members suffered a lot of damages both in personnel time and direct financial damages,” said Matthew Seiler, vice president and general counsel at NCPA. “We felt like we would be in a good position to represent all of those interests.”
In February, Change Healthcare was hit with a ransomware attack that brought payment and claims processing across the country to a halt.
While it’s “hard to quantify” dollar figures, which vary widely by provider, Seiler said he’s heard some estimates of mid-five to six figures in direct and indirect damages.
“Direct damages include having to find new software vendors and not being compensated for dispensing services in providing patients their medications,” he said. “Others had to have (patients) go to other pharmacies to get their medications filled.”
In the lawsuit, the NCPA also argues that Change Healthcare failed to take reasonable precautions against a catastrophic breach and misled customers about its network security.
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