The Biden administration and US lawmakers are increasing pressure on the UnitedHealth group to ease the pain of healthcare providers after the Change Healthcare ransomware attack, by speeding up payments to hospitals, doctors and pharmacists – among other things.

"A hack of this magnitude is unforgivable and every American affected has a right to be outraged," thundered US Senator Ron Wyden on Friday. "It is completely unacceptable that neither UnitedHealth Group nor federal authorities were prepared for the fallout despite years of evidence that the healthcare sector is a prime target for criminal hackers."

Change Healthcare's software processes 15 billion transactions annually. Since a ransomware attack shut down its systems in late February, medical providers across the United States have reported disruptions in patient care and severe cash flow problems.

ALPHV/BlackCat affiliates claimed responsibility for the cyber attack and the extortion team received more than $22 million in the weeks following the attack – a payment believed to be a possible payment to secure decryption of ransomed systems.