FILE PHOTO: A UnitedHealth Group health insurance card is seen in a wallet in this picture illustration October 14, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/Illustration//File Photo
(Reuters) -The U.S. government on Wednesday said it has opened an investigation into the cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group's Change Healthcare to find out whether there was a breach of protected health data and if the company followed U.S. health privacy law.
It is the first announcement of a probe by the Department Of Health and Human Services into the Feb. 21 cyberattack that has disrupted healthcare across the United States. Patient information is protected under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA.
