Chad Van Alstin

1 week ago | healthexec.com | Chad Van Alstin

Private insurer Aflac, which specializes in worker’s compensation, health and life coverage, announced Friday it was the victim of a data breach that may have exposed customers’ private data to hackers. According to a statement from the company, the attack was discovered on June 12, and was committed by a “sophisticated cybercrime group.” At the time of writing, no known hacker cell has taken credit for the incident. Aflac said the breach is still being investigated.

1 week ago | healthexec.com | Chad Van Alstin

The HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR) said it is investigating whether a “major health system” in Michigan violated federal laws that protect individuals against religious discrimination—in deference to their “right of conscience”—a collective series of statutes known as the "Church Amendments."The agency announced the investigation on Friday, declining to name the health system in question.

1 week ago | healthexec.com | Chad Van Alstin

Healthcare technology company Episource, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth, said it was hit by a ransomware attack in February, which resulted in a data breach that exposed patient records to hackers. It’s now begun sending notifications to those impacted. According to a notice the company posted this week, an investigation confirmed unauthorized parties gained access to sensitive data stored on Episource servers during the cyberattack, at which time the incident was reported to authorities.

1 week ago | healthexec.com | Chad Van Alstin

A report from the Guardian details how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is instructing its doctors nationwide to ignore previous anti-discrimination guidelines for services, particularly those that pertain to political beliefs and marital status. The outlet said it is in possession of internal documents that point to the VA removing the protective language, effectively opening the door for patients to be denied services.

1 week ago | healthexec.com | Chad Van Alstin

Two weeks after a Bloomberg report claimed Ascension Health was set to buy Amsurg, an ambulatory surgery company, from its private equity owners, the deal has now been confirmed. Ascension said on June 17 it had entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Amsurg outright, with the deal expected to be finalized later this year. While no specifics on cost were provided, Bloomberg had reported the deal was likely to be worth $3.9 billion.