Post hack recourse: UnitedHealth Group has said its Change Healthcare division is on track to begin processing a backlog of medical claims valued at over $14 billion. 

The development comes as part of recovery from a cyberattack incident that disrupted several software services last month.

The cyberattack on February 21 led to crucial delays in payments to doctors and healthcare facilities across the US, prompting an investigation by the government. 

The attack particularly affected community health centers that provide services to over 30 million individuals, including the poor and uninsured.

In response to the crisis, UnitedHealth has already advanced more than $2.5 billion to help healthcare providers affected by the service interruptions, marking an increase from the $2 billion initially reported on March . Additionally, the company has decided to extend the repayment period for these relief funds to 45 business days.

Change Healthcare, a crucial component of the U.S. healthcare system, processes about half of the country's medical claims. It serves approximately 900,000 physicians, 33,000 pharmacies, 5,500 hospitals, and 600 laboratories. The cyberattack, attributed to the hacking group ALPHV, also known as "BlackCat," has had widespread effects, with recovery expected to take several months.

The insurer revealed that its Assurance software for preparing medical claims went back online on Monday. Moreover, its largest clearinghouse, Relay Exchange, is slated to resume operations over the weekend of March 23. Clearinghouses play a vital role in the healthcare payment process by ensuring that claims are error-free before they are sent for payment.

UnitedHealth is taking measures to work with payers to maximize the number of locations available for processing claims and is coordinating with other clearinghouses to prevent capacity issues.

To assist those impacted by the disruptions, UnitedHealth temporarily suspended certain paperwork requirements for insurance coverage approvals for outpatient services and inpatient admission reviews for Medicare Advantage plans.

The company anticipates activating all submitted claims during the week of March 25. It also expects to bring its other products, including Clearance and Coverage Insight for claim eligibility and the MedRx and Reimbursement Manager for pharmacy claims, back online in the coming week.

UnitedHealth plans to relaunch several more products in the first two weeks of April. However, some products remain without a definitive timeline for restoration. The company has committed to providing updates as these timelines are established.

(With Reuters Inputs)