Jefferies argued this week that hospital operators such as HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA), Tenet Healthcare (NYSE:THC), and Community Health Systems (NYSE:CYH) could benefit from an ongoing cybersecurity incident at Ascension, the latest cyberattack to hit a U.S. healthcare giant.
Ascension, whose network includes 140 hospitals across 19 states in the U.S., was forced to divert ambulances from “several” of its hospitals early this month after a cyberattack affected its IT systems, including access to electronic health records.
“Based on disclosures from Ascension & our local channel checks, the impact on healthcare delivery includes the cancellation/delay of elective procedures & substantial delays in non-emergency care, with several hospitals diverting emergency cases elsewhere,” Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut wrote.
Shares of R1 RCM (RCM), which generated about 40% of its net services revenue from Ascension last year, fell after the St. Louis, Missouri-based healthcare giant announced the hack, the latest to afftect healthcare operations in the U.S.
In March, citing cash flow concerns, ratings agency Moody’s said that the recent cybersecurity incident at UnitedHealth’s (UNH) health tech unit, Change Healthcare, could have some credit impact on U.S. medical providers.