Although UnitedHealth Group reaffirmed its 2024 earnings prediction, it stated on Tuesday that it expected the hack of its Change Healthcare arm will cost the company up to $1.6 billion this year. This suggests that the impact of the cyberattack may be less severe than many on Wall Street had feared.
The healthcare company exceeded first-quarter earnings projections despite the significant interruptions, and its shares were up 7.5% at $478.98 in morning trading. Since revealing the ransomware assault on February 21, United’s stock has dropped by about fifteen percent.
Community health centers that serve more than 30 million people suffered greatly due to the Change attack, which affected payments to physicians and healthcare facilities nationally for a month. Change is one of the biggest financial clearing houses in the United States.
There were also delays in claim submissions as medical care providers, unable to access the Change system, struggled with paperwork.
“We’ve made substantial progress and we will not rest until care providers’ connectivity needs are met,” UnitedHealth Chief Executive Andrew Witty said on a conference call to discuss results. The company said it had already booked $872 million in costs related to the data breach in the quarter, most of it as one-time items.
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