Dive Brief:

The CMS overpaid many hospitals in a relief program during the Change Healthcare cyberattack last year, while missing hundreds of hospitals that also faced significant financial disruption, according to a study published last week in Health Affairs.

The federal government distributed $3.3 billion to Medicare providers in early 2024 as payments were disrupted by the attack on the UnitedHealth-owned payment processor and technology firm, the research found.

But most hospitals received payments that exceeded their Medicare revenue loss during the first six weeks of the cyberattack, according to the study. Additionally, more than 300 hospitals didn’t participate in the relief program, even though they saw similar losses — and were more likely to be small and rural facilities.

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