Option Care Health says UnitedHealth hack may hit financials in near term (updated)

Option Care Health

14/03/2024 23:14

(Adds shares in paragraph 4, details in para 3)
       March 14 (Reuters) - Homecare health services provider
Option Care Health  OPCH.O  said on Thursday it has been
affected by the cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group's  UNH.N 
Change Healthcare unit, and the hack could impact its near-term
financial results.
    More than half of the company's claims for services rendered
since the hack remain unprocessed, Option Care said in a
regulatory filing.
    Option said it anticipates a hit to its cash flow and
working capital due to the inability to process a number of
claims, with inefficiencies in patient registration and billing
also among factors that can affect the company.
    Shares of Option were down nearly 2% in extended trading.
    Option Care utilizes Change Healthcare's services to verify
benefits for existing and prospective patients, submission of
claims to health plans for processing and payment as well as
application of cash remittances.
    "The company cannot predict the ultimate impact on its
operations and financial results given the dynamic and ongoing
nature of the situation," Option said. 
    Option, however, said it has not identified any compromise
or unauthorized access of its systems or networks due to the
incident, adding it had disconnected its operations from Change
Healthcare applications.
    Change Healthcare processes about 50% of medical claims in
the U.S. for around 900,000 physicians, 33,000 pharmacies, 5,500
hospitals and 600 laboratories.
    The data breach, which has disrupted healthcare across the
United States, is now under investigation by the U.S.
government.  
   

 (Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing
by Shounak Dasgupta and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com))