American Society of Anesthesiologists Requests Court Deny Bid by UnitedHealth Group Subsidiary Change Healthcare to Dismiss Negligence Claims

CHICAGO — The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) recently filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the case against Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. The brief supports the health care provider plaintiffs, asserting that the company had a legal obligation to protect sensitive patient information they received, including personally identifying and medical information, from loss through unsecure data systems.

According to the case, the Change Healthcare Platform processes medical claims relating to 15 billion health care transactions annually, encompassing a third of patient records in the United States. Even though Change Healthcare accepts this sensitive information daily, they argued that they have “no obligation” to safeguard it against cyberattacks.

“That Change Healthcare—a subsidiary of the massive, vertically integrated UnitedHealth Group — can actually claim they have no responsibility to safeguard sensitive personal and medical information for billions of transactions simply defies reason,” said ASA President Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA. “Every day health care providers and institutions provide this information to Change Healthcare to process medical claims, with the understanding that they will keep that information safe.”

ASA’s brief contends that Change Healthcare’s argument is inconsistent with basic tort law, noting that if Change Healthcare’s conduct created a risk for others (through the patient records) then Change Healthcare owes a duty to exercise reasonable care for those records. The brief continues that Change Healthcare created a risk by accepting sensitive patient information and storing it in systems that failed to use “even rudimentary cybersecurity precautions” to protect the information from loss.

ASA’s brief further explains that the duty to exercise reasonable care for their conduct (in this instance, accepting sensitive information for the purpose of claims processing) creates the duty to protect that sensitive information from loss.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 59,000 members organized to advance the medical practice of anesthesiology and secure its future. ASA is committed to ensuring anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of all patients before, during, and after surgery. ASA members also lead the care of critically ill patients in intensive care units, as well as treat pain in both acute and chronic settings.

To learn more about the ACR or NACOR, visit asahq.org/ACR or contact the AQI at [email protected]. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about how anesthesiologists help ensure patient safety, visit asahq.org/madeforthismoment. Follow ASA on Facebook, X, Instagram, Bluesky, and LinkedIn.

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