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UnitedHealth reported that key pharmacy services were functioning by March 7, 2024, electronic payments resumed March 15, and medical-claims preparation software began rolling out March 18. Those milestones marked substantial progress, but they did not establish that every service or downstream effect had returned to normal. A 2025 UnitedHealth filing later estimated that approximately 190 million people were affected by the attack.
What happened in the Change Healthcare cyberattack?
In testimony to the Senate Finance Committee on May 1, 2024, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said the ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group deployed ransomware inside Change Healthcare’s information-technology environment on February 21, encrypting systems. UnitedHealth said it isolated affected Change Healthcare systems after detecting the attack and found no evidence that it had spread to Optum, UnitedHealthcare, or UnitedHealth Group.
Change Healthcare handles services used across healthcare administration, including pharmacy transactions, medical claims, and payments. The disruption therefore affected more than one function, and restoring one service did not automatically mean the others were available.
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Which services came back, and when?
UnitedHealth described a phased restoration. Its announcements distinguished services already operating from target dates and software releases still being prepared for customer use.
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| Date | What UnitedHealth reported |
|---|---|
| March 7, 2024 | Pharmacy electronic prescribing, claim submission, and payment transmission were functioning. The company said 99% of pharmacy-network services had been restored by this date. It scheduled electronic-payment connectivity for March 15 and medical-claims testing and connectivity for March 18. |
| March 15, 2024 | UnitedHealth later reported that its electronic-payments platform had been restored on this date. |
| March 18, 2024 | The company began releasing medical-claims preparation software to customers. Activation was to be phased, with third-party attestations planned before operational use. |
| April 22, 2024 | UnitedHealth said restoration of impacted products and services continued to make strong progress while its analysis of affected data remained underway. |
The dates refer to the company’s reported milestones, not independent confirmation that every customer had resumed normal operations. The available company statements do not establish a single date when all Change Healthcare services and downstream consequences were back to baseline.
How did UnitedHealth support providers during the disruption?
UnitedHealth said it offered temporary funding advances to providers facing cash-flow pressure from interrupted claims and payment services. By March 18, the company reported advancing more than $2 billion through multiple initiatives and described the assistance as available at no cost. That figure is the company’s reported total as of that update, not a measure of the financial losses providers ultimately incurred.
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How many people were affected, and what data was involved?
On April 22, 2024, UnitedHealth said targeted sampling had found files containing protected health information (PHI) or personally identifiable information (PII). The company said its review would take months and that the announcement was not yet an official breach notification. It offered two years of free credit monitoring and identity-theft protection to people it identified as impacted, through a dedicated call center.
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Did the effects end when systems were restored?
No. UnitedHealth’s 2024 Form 10-K, filed in 2025, disclosed approximately $640 million in medical costs tied to care-management activities that had been temporarily suspended. This illustrates why a technical restoration milestone is not the same as a return to normal across care delivery and business operations. The company’s disclosures report continuing financial and operational effects, but do not provide one independently verified date for a complete recovery.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did UnitedHealth tell Congress?
The Senate Finance Committee held its May 1, 2024 hearing, “Hacking America’s Health Care: Assessing the Change Healthcare Cyber Attack and What’s Next,” with Witty as the UnitedHealth Group witness. His prepared testimony described the ransomware incident, the decision to isolate affected systems, contact with the FBI, and the company’s stated commitment to strengthen its defenses.
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The testimony and subsequent company updates provide UnitedHealth’s account of containment and recovery. They are useful for understanding what the company reported, but they should not be confused with an independent audit of every restoration milestone or its full impact.
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