A survey from the American Hospital Association found that 94% of hospitals have felt financial impact from the Change Healthcare cyberattacks and over half have reported a "significant or serious" impact.
The AHA survey was shared with all U.S. hospitals, and the results represent around 1,000 hospital responses collected from March 9-12.
Here are four additional survey findings:
1. Of the 82% of hospitals that reported cash flow impact, more than 33% reported an impact on over half of their revenue; almost 66% reported revenue impact is $1 million or greater daily; 44% expect the negative revenue impact to continue for two to four more months; and more than 20% of hospitals are uncertain of the impact magnitude from the attacks.
2. Seventy-four percent of hospitals reported a direct effect on patient care. Almost 40% of hospitals reported patients having care access difficulties due to processing delays for health plan utilization requirements.
3. While most of the surveyed hospitals are implementing workarounds, 67% said it is "difficult or very difficult" to change clearinghouses; 81% said the workarounds have been only somewhat successful; and 11% have found the workarounds unsuccessful.
4. "These survey findings are another irrefutable reminder that the impact of this cyberattack is far reaching and far from over," Rick Pollack, president and CEO of AHA, said in a statement shared with Becker's. "When nearly every hospital says they are experiencing a financial loss and half of those say it's 'significant or serious,' with no immediate end in sight, then the debate about whether we need to help them should be over. We continue to call on Congress and the Administration to take additional actions now to support providers as they deal with significant fallout from this historic attack. We also need UnitedHealth Group and commercial payers to step up and support patients and providers on the front lines by waiving prior authorization and timely filing requirements, as well as advancing payments that will allow providers to continue providing 24/7 care to communities."