Mark Warner highlights need for cybersecurity standards in U.S. healthcare system

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is pushing the Biden administration to address cybersecurity deficiencies in the U.S. healthcare system.

“I write today to urge you to prioritize the development of mandatory minimum cyber standards and to propose them as soon as possible, given the increasing severity, frequency, and sophistication of cybersecurity threats and attacks,” Warner wrote in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger made public on Friday.

The letter cited a cybersecurity incident at Change Healthcare affected billing and care authorization portals and led to prescription backlogs and missed revenue for providers.

This attack, and other similar attempts, pose a serious risk not only to regular business operations, but also to patient care, Warner noted.

“Health care is one of the largest sectors in the U.S. economy, with health expenditures accounting for 17 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product in 2022, and expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2032,” Warner wrote. “More important than the economic risks cyberattacks pose to the health care sector are the vulnerabilities to patients’ access to care and private health information. Simply put, inadequate cybersecurity practices put people’s lives at risk.”