More than 250 hospitals were targeted by ransomware attacks in 2023, Rep.’s office notes. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois, which represents a 128% increase over the previous year.
As has been shown time and time again, these attacks are disruptive and debilitating: they delay crucial medical procedures, interrupt the flow of patient care, leading to canceled medical appointments and overworked staff.
Kelly has introduced a new bill that she says will help improve cybersecurity preparedness for the smaller hospitals most vulnerable to ransomware and other cyberattacks.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Her newly submitted legislationthe Healthcare Cybersecurity Improvement Act (HR 10455), contains four key provisions:
- It provides the statutes of the Healthcare Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) so that the agency can continue its important work
- It creates an initial $100 million grant program to boost cybersecurity efforts at small and medium-sized hospitals
- It requires HHS to create basic cybersecurity standards, which could then be included as a condition of participation for hospitals receiving Medicare funding
- It creates liability protection so that larger healthcare systems can provide smaller healthcare centers with access to cyber resources without fear of liability
Read the full text of the bill here.
“When patients place their health in the hands of doctors and healthcare providers, they are also entrusting their most personal information to hospitals’ cybersecurity systems – and the truth is that these systems are broken,” Kelly said in a statement.
THE BIG TREND
The new bill is supported by the voluntary cybersecurity organization, AI Am the Cavalrywhich is committed to increasing the cybersecurity of connected medical devices, IT infrastructure and other mission-critical technologies.
Cybercriminals “show no signs of giving up,” Joshua Corman, co-founder of I Am The Cavalry, said in a statement. “These attacks cause worsened patient care with a quantifiable increase in worsened outcomes and even loss of life. Congressman Robin Kelly, through I Am The Cavalry, has consistently worked with ethical hackers on closing these gaps toward greater resilience in small, medium, and rural healthcare facilities, so every American can count on timely access to emergency care.”
ON THE RECORD
“It has become woefully clear that hospitals need better standards and investments to deter cyberattacks, especially smaller hospitals that require greater capacity and expertise,” Rep. Kelly said in a statement. “Americans needing surgery or rushing to the hospital for an emergency don’t have to worry about whether their doctor’s medical equipment has been hacked or care has to be delayed because of a ransomware attack.”
Mike Miliard is editor-in-chief of Healthcare IT News
Email the writer: mike.miliard@himssmedia.com
Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS publication.