Change Healthcare Inc. (known as Emdeon before rebranding in 2015, which followed its acquisition of Change Healthcare) is a provider of revenue and payment cycle management services that connects payers, providers, and patients within the
U.S. healthcare system
Healthcare in the United States is largely provided by private sector healthcare facilities, and paid for by a combination of public programs, private insurance, and out-of-pocket payments. The U.S. is the only developed country without a syst ...
. The name also refers to a company founded in 2007 which subsequently became part of the current conglomerate. The company operates the largest financial and administrative information exchange in the United States.
The company's headquarters are in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, with more than 89 additional locations throughout the United States and the world, including
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
,
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
.
History
Change Healthcare (2007)
Change Healthcare was established in 2007 and based in
Brentwood, Tennessee
Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census.cost transparency tools for health plans and large, self-insured employers across the United States. The company was founded by Christopher Parks and Robert Hendrick with a consumer solution called MedBill Manager. In January 2010, the company shifted its focus to the business-to-business market and launched the Change Healthcare Engagement Platform.
In April 2011, Howard McLure, former president of
CVS Caremark
CVS Caremark (formerly Caremark Rx) is the pharmacy benefit management subsidiary of CVS Health, headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
Company history Early years
CVS Caremark was founded in 1993 as MedPartners, Inc. in Birmingham, Alab ...
, came out of retirement to lead Change Healthcare as chairman and CEO. Doug Ghertner joined the company as president in July 2011.
In December 2011, Change Healthcare closed a round of financing led by Sandbox Industries, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, and West Health Investment Fund. In September 2012, Ghertner was promoted to president and CEO while McLure assumed the role of executive chairman.
In July 2013, Change Healthcare closed on a round of Series D funding led by HLM Venture Partners and including new investor Noro-Moseley Partners, which infused $15 million into the company. In July 2013, Change Healthcare was named one of Modern Healthcare’s “100 Best Places to Work in Healthcare."
Emdeon
In 2004, WebMD Corporation acquired Dakota Imaging, Inc. and ViPS, Inc.
Until August 2005, Emdeon operated under the name WebMD Corporation (
NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
: HLTH). The name was changed to Emdeon to avoid confusion with its then subsidiary
WebMD
WebMD is an American corporation which publishes online news and information about human health and well-being. The WebMD website also includes information about drugs and is an important healthcare information website and the most popular cons ...
, which started public trading under stock symbol WBMD in September 2005.
In May 2009, the company acquired The Sentinel Group, a vendor of software and investigational services to combat health care fraud. In January 2010, the company acquired Future Vision Investment Group, L.L.C. (FVTech), a provider of outsourced services specializing in electronic data conversion and information management solutions. In March 2010, the company acquired Healthcare Technology Management Services, Inc. (HTMS), a management consulting company focused primarily on the healthcare payer market. In June 2010, the company acquired Chapin Revenue Cycle Management, LLC (Chapin), a technology-enabled provider of accounts receivable denial and recovery services. In August 2010, the company acquired Interactive Payer Network (IPN), a technology service provider that acts as an outsourcing partner for HIPAA-compliant healthcare electronic data interchange (EDI). In October 2010, the company acquired Chamberlin Edmonds & Associates, Inc. (CEA), a technology-enabled provider of government program eligibility and enrollment services. In May 2011, the company acquired EquiClaim, a provider of healthcare audit and recovery services for commercial and government payers, from MultiPlan, Inc.
In August 2011, Emdeon Inc. was taken private for $3 billion by the
Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...
. Blackstone's offer of $19 per Emdeon share was backed by committed financing from
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
BofA Securities, Inc., previously Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), is an American multinational investment banking division under the auspices of Bank of America. It is not to be confused with Merrill, the stock brokerage and trading pla ...
,
Barclays Capital
Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...
and
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi (Style (visual arts), stylized as citi) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services company based in New York City. The company was formed in 1998 by the merger of Citicorp, t ...
. Emdeon shares rose 13.6% the morning after the acquisition. Shares had risen 31% over the year prior to the announcement.
In May 2012, the company acquired TC3 Health, a cost containment provider, including payment integrity and out-of-network claims cost management, to U.S. healthcare payers. In June 2013, the company acquired Gold Health Systems, a healthcare management organization that specializes in providing pharmacy benefits and related services primarily to State Medicaid agencies across the nation. In July 2014, the company acquired Capario, a healthcare technology provider.
In November 2014, Change Healthcare was acquired by Emdeon for $135 million. In November 2015, Emdeon rebranded to take the Change Healthcare name.
In December 2014, the company acquired Admini Source Communications, Inc. In August 2015, the company acquired Altegra Health, a provider of technology and intervention platforms that combine data aggregation and analytics with member engagement and reporting capabilities.
In June 2016,
McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation is a publicly traded American company that distributes Medication, pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, Medical device, medical supplies, and Health administration, health management tools. The company ...
and Change Healthcare Holdings, Inc., announced the creation of a new healthcare company which combined substantially all of Change Healthcare's business with the majority of McKesson's
Information technology
Information technology (IT) is a set of related fields within information and communications technology (ICT), that encompass computer systems, software, programming languages, data processing, data and information processing, and storage. Inf ...
unit. McKesson owns approximately 70% of the new company with the remaining equity stake held by Change Healthcare stockholders. The new company continues to be called Change Healthcare.
In October 2018, it was reported that Change Healthcare Corporation had hired underwriters and investment banks in preparation for an initial public offering (IPO) planned for the 2018–2019 time frame. On June 27, 2019, Change Healthcare Inc. began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol CHNG, offering up to 49.2 million shares at $13 per share and raising over $640 million through its IPO.
In December 2018, Change Healthcare acquired the intellectual property and other key assets, including employees, of Charleston-based healthcare IT startup PokitDok.
In January 2021,
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American Multinational corporation, multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealth ...
's Optum Insight unit agreed to acquire Change Healthcare in a deal valued at $13billion, including assuming $5billion of the latter's debt. Following delays due to regulator scrutiny, the acquisition closed on October 3, 2022.
In 2022, Change Healthcare and Luma Health partnered to launch a patient engagement solution aimed at improving healthcare communication and access.
2024 CyberAttack
On February 21, 2024, the company was hit by a cyberattack that prevented payouts to doctors on the platform. As a result of the attack, electronic payments and medical claims could not be processed by UnitedHealth Group, leading to widespread disruption. Patients were forced to pay for many of their medications out of pocket instead of using medication coupons or copays. Many healthcare providers claimed significant revenue losses as a result of the disruption, up to $100 million per day, putting some in danger of insolvency. As a result of the cyberattack, HHS opened a civil rights investigation with regards to patient privacy concerns.
On February 22, 2024, UnitedHealth Group filed a notice to the
Securities and Exchange Commission
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...
stating that a "suspected nation-state associated cybersecurity threat actor" gained access to Change Healthcare's information technology system. Following UnitedHealth Group's initial filing,
CVS Health
CVS Health Corporation is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provider, among many other brands. The company is the worl ...
,
Walgreens
Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S.
Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...
,
Publix
Publix Super Markets, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Publix, is an employee ownership, employee-owned American supermarket Chain store, chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a Privately h ...
athenahealth
Athenahealth, Inc. is a privately held American company that provides network-enabled services for healthcare and point-of-care mobile apps in the United States.
The company was founded in 1997 in San Diego and is now headquartered in Boston, ...
.
On February 29, 2024, UnitedHealth Group confirmed that the
ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that Encryption, encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. Difficult-to-trace Digital currency, digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies are com ...
attack was "perpetrated by a cyber crime threat actor who...represented itself to
he company
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (letter), the fifth letter of the Semitic abjads
* He (pronoun), a pronoun in Modern English
* He (kana), one of the Japanese kana (へ in hiragana and ヘ in katakana)
* Ge (Cyrillic), a Cyrillic letter ca ...
as ALPHV/Blackcat." The company stated that it was "working closely with law enforcement and leading third-party consultants,
Mandiant
Mandiant, Inc. is an American cybersecurity firm and a subsidiary of Google. Mandiant received attention in February 2013 when it released a report directly implicating China in cyber espionage. In December 2013, Mandiant was acquired by FireE ...
and
Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. is an American multinational cybersecurity company with headquarters in Santa Clara, California. The core product is a platform that includes advanced firewalls and cloud-based offerings that extend those firewalls to ...
" to address the matter.
On March 4, 2024,
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
reported that a
bitcoin
Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...
payment equivalent to nearly USD $22 million had been made to a
cryptocurrency
A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it.
Individual coin ownership record ...
wallet "associated with ALPHV." United Health did not comment on the payment, instead stating that the organization was "focused on the investigation and the recovery." On the same day, a
Wired
Wired may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976
* ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993
* ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017
* "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street''
* "Wired ...
reporter stated that the transaction looked "very much like a large ransom payment."
As of March 18, 2024, UnitedHealth Group had advanced payments of over $2 billion in assistance to health care providers affected by the cybersecurity attack. In addition, some services had been restored including Change Healthcare’s payment processing platform and pharmacy network.
Response
On March 1, 2024, UnitedHealth Group's
Optum
Optum, Inc. is an American healthcare company that provides technology services, pharmacy care services (including a pharmacy benefit manager) and various direct healthcare services.
Optum was formed as a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group in ...
division launched a Temporary Funding Assistance Program to assist with short-term cash flow needs for providers who received payments that were processed by Change Healthcare. The
American Hospital Association
The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a health care industry trade group. It includes nearly 5,000 hospitals and health care providers.
The organization, which was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1898, with offices in Chicago, Illinois and W ...
(AHA) criticized the program due to its terms and conditions, specifically Optum's ability to recoup funds "immediately and without prior notification" and to "change the agreement simply by providing notice."
On March 5, 2024, the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is "Im ...
announced financial flexibilities for hospitals impacted by the attack. The American Hospital Association (AHA) was critical of these measures, stating that the proposed flexibilities were "not an adequate whole of government response."
On March 12, 2024, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty was summoned to a meeting by the
Biden administration
Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...
, which was attended by healthcare providers across the sector. During this meeting, HHS Secretary
Xavier Becerra
Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...
and White House domestic policy chief Neera Tanden urged UnitedHealth Group leadership to increase the amount of funding available to impacted providers.
As of April 16, 2024,
UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American Multinational corporation, multinational for-profit company specializing in health insurance and health care services based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Selling insurance products under UnitedHealth ...
had advanced payments of over $6 billion in assistance to health care providers affected by the cybersecurity attack.