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It's official: The massive cyberattack against UnitedHealth Group unit Change Healthcare was the biggest healthcare data breach in history. The ransomware incident in February affected 100 million people, or nearly 30% of the U.S. population, according to the Breach Portal maintained by the Office for Civil Rights at the Health and Human Services Department. That's consistent with what CEO Andrew Witty told a House subcommittee in May, when he testified that the breach ensnared about one-third of the country. (Berryman, 10/23)

Dozens of former federal officials from the last five presidential administrations have a plan for how the next administration should address cybersecurity issues — regardless of who takes office in January. The suggested plan of action, obtained first by POLITICO, is composed of around 40 recommendations put together by officials on both sides of the aisle and is aimed at creating a pathway forward to expand the Biden administration’s cyber policy work. Cyber threats span every sector and are a rare subject where bipartisanship often prevails both on Pennsylvania Avenue and on Capitol Hill. (Miller, 10/22)

The push for more transparency in the health system is increasingly taking aim at "ghost networks" — the inaccurate health provider directories that critics say are keeping Americans from getting mental health care. A lawsuit filed against Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield this week comes as Congress and the White House are stepping up efforts to require insurers to accurately account for which providers are in network. (Reed, 10/24)

Federal price transparency rules are showing signs of stoking more hospital competition and making prices more reflective of the cost of care, a new review found. There's still limited understanding of how the rules are affecting market dynamics, and experts acknowledge they haven't yet translated to lower across-the-board patient costs. (Goldman, 10/24)

After a year-long takeover battle for the owner of France’s best-selling painkiller, Sanofi’s decision to sell its over-the-counter business to a US buyout firm descended into mudslinging, public rebukes and political discord. The French drugmaker’s sale of a controlling stake in its Opella unit to US financial juggernaut Clayton Dubilier & Rice for €16 billion ($17.3 billion) was sealed over the weekend. The decision brought an end to an unusually fierce campaign — fought in private and public — by Paris-based rival PAI Partners, which refused to accept it had lost and tried to upend the transaction, triggering a rigorous response from the other side. (Kirchfeld, Barbaglia, Nair, Nussbaum, and Gopinath, 10/24)

Sanford Health and Marshfield Clinic Health System have signed a definitive merger agreement. The proposed transaction to form a combined 56-hospital system with more than $10 billion in revenue is expected to close by the end of the year, pending customary regulatory approvals, according to a Wednesday announcement from the nonprofit health systems. (Kacik, 10/23)

Walmart will be liable for millions of dollars in civil penalties and costs for allegedly dumping hazardous waste and sensitive customer records in California landfills, according to a stipulated judgment filed this week in Alameda County Superior Court. The judgment would settle a lawsuit brought against Walmart by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and the district attorneys of 12 counties in December 2021. Under its terms, the nation’s largest retailer will be required to pay penalties for allegedly dumping in state landfills nearly 80 tons of hazardous waste and confidential customer information from its stores throughout the state. (Mendez, 10/23)

Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News: A California Official Helped Save A Mental Health Company’s Contract. It Flew Him To London

The director of California’s mental health commission traveled to London this summer courtesy of a state vendor while he was helping to prevent a $360 million budget cut that would have defunded the company’s contract. Emails and calendars reviewed by Â鶹ŮÓÅ Health News show Toby Ewing, executive director of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, made efforts to protect funding for Kooth, a London-based digital mental health company the state hired to develop a virtual tool to help tackle its youth mental health crisis. (Castle Work, 10/24)