Massive cyberattack on healthcare giant still blocking patients from insurance, medications

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- It has been two weeks and a massive cyberattack against a major healthcare company is still hindering access to medications and treatments, and local hospitals are still dealing with the consequences.

Medical experts are describing this as the worst attack on the healthcare system in American history. Meanwhile, a representative at Cape Fear Valley Health told ABC11 there is little they can do to fix it.

The hospital said the big issue is above them and local hospital systems; the attack hit the highest levels of the healthcare industry.

Parent company UnitedHealth Group said its subsidiary, Change Healthcare, was cyberattacked by an entity called ALPHV/Blackcat last month.

Cape Fear Valley Health issued a statement to ABC11:

"As of Wednesday, Mar. 6, Cape Fear Valley Health continues to be impacted by the Change Healthcare outage which has halted the filing of prescription insurance claims. We are continuing to communicate with representatives from Change Healthcare, Optum, and other organizations as we work through this issue. They are hopeful that the issue will be resolved soon.

Cape Fear Valley Health is assisting patients on a case-by-case basis to fill prescriptions and ensure our patients have necessary medications."

Meanwhile, UnitedHealth said on its website it is creating workarounds to get people their medications and bring some systems back online. However, the American Hospital Association sent a letter to UnitedHealth on Monday saying those workarounds aren't practical. The Association also said the temporary funds UnitedHealth sent to impacted doctors is "not even a band-aid" for the financial mess the cyberattack burdened them with.

The hospital said it's hoping for a breakthrough, as the attack is putting prolonged, unnecessary stress on people already grappling with their health.