Universal Health Services Ransomware Attack Cost $67 Million in 2020
2020 was a particularly bad year for healthcare industry ransomware attacks, with one of the worst suffered by the King of Prussia, PA-based Fortune 500 healthcare system, Universal Health Services (UHS).
UHS, which operates 400 hospitals and behavioral health facilities in the United States and United Kingdom, suffered a cyberattack in September 2020 that wiped out all of its IT systems, affecting its hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the country.
The phone system was taken out of action, and without access to computers and electronic health records, employees had to resort to pen and paper to record patient information. In the early hours after the attack occurred, the health system diverted ambulances to alternative facilities and some elective procedures were either postponed or diverted to competitors. Patients reported delays receiving test results while UHS recovered from the attack.
UHS worked fast to restore its information technology infrastructure following the attack and worked around the clock to return to normal business operations; however, the recovery process took around 3 weeks. The disruption naturally had a major impact financially, with the UHS quarterly earnings report for Q4, 2020 showing $42.1 million in losses, which equated to 49 cents per diluted share. UHS ended the quarter with profits of $308.7 million, up 6.6% from Q4, 2019.
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Restoring its IT infrastructure resulted in significant increase in labor costs, both internally and externally. Cash flows were also affected as certain administrative functions such as coding and billing had to be delayed until December 2020.
UHS has reported total pre-tax losses of an estimated $67 million in 2020 due to the ransomware attack, mostly as a result of the loss of operating income, reduction in patient activity, and increased revenue reserves as a result of the billing delays. UHS believes it is entitled to recover the majority of the $67 million in insurance payouts.
