On April 16, the American Hospital Association (AHA) presented proposals and concerns related to health care cybersecurity vulnerabilities during a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing. John Riggi, AHA’s national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, emphasized the importance of focusing on the entire health care sector rather than just hospitals. He called for a strong offensive cyber strategy to protect hospitals, health systems, and patients from cyber threats that can impact public health and safety.
During the hearing, Riggi urged Congress to address the issues stemming from the Change Healthcare cyberattack, such as ensuring providers can resume services, process claims, reconcile payments, and access financial support to cover costs incurred as a result of the attack. He highlighted the significance of safeguarding the health care sector, as any cyberattack that disrupts patient care poses a risk to patient safety and goes beyond economic implications to threaten lives.
Other experts who testified at the hearing included Greg Garcia from the Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council, Robert Sheldon from CrowdStrike, Scott MacLean from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, and Dr. Adam Bruggeman from the Texas Spine Center. Together, they discussed the importance of implementing cybersecurity measures to protect the health care sector and ensure the continuity of patient care. They also stressed that addressing these issues requires collaboration between government agencies, private sector organizations