Morning Headlines 3/6/24

‘Exit scam’ – hackers that hit UnitedHealth pull disappearing act

The BlackCat ransomware group appears to have shut down its infrastructure, leading some cybersecurity experts to predict that the hackers will begin operating under a new name.

HHS Statement Regarding the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

HHS says that it has made clear that Change Healthcare owner UnitedHealth Group needs to do everything it can to ensure provider continuity of operations, and that it “is taking direct action” to support providers who are experiencing cash flow problems as a result of the downtime.

Whistleblower Accuses Aledade, Largest US Independent Primary Care Network, of Medicare Fraud

A whistleblower lawsuit accuses primary care practice network Aledade of rigging its coding software to overbill Medicare by inflating diagnoses to earn higher payments.

VA budget bill maintains EHR funding but imposes additional ‘reset’ oversight

Lawmakers propose a fiscal year 2024 budget package that includes $1.3 billion for the VA’s continued rollout of its Oracle Health EHR, with a contingency that 25% of that funding be tied to transparency with Congress about efforts to address ongoing performance issues.