UnitedHealth Group reportedly paid a $22 mln ransom to recover data following a ransomware attack by the criminal group Blackcat, which has caused significant disruption across the U.S. healthcare system. The attack has led to technology outages affecting health care providers and insurers, making it difficult for some patients to access medications as pharmacies struggle to confirm prescription coverage. The American Hospital Association criticized UnitedHealth's efforts to restore its financial systems as inadequate, while U.S. health regulators have urged insurers to suspend some care limits. The Biden administration has responded to the cyberattack, and there are calls for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide accelerated payments to affected hospitals and pharmacies. Despite the ransom payment, the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware servers have reportedly gone down, and there are claims of an exit scam by the hackers.