You are using a browser we no longer support. Current functionality may be reduced and some features may not work properly. For a more optimal geha.com experience, please click here for a list of supported browsers.

Information: GEHA accelerating payment processing

As of May 14, 2024

GEHA has implemented an accelerated approach to processing outstanding payments to providers and members with a goal of these being resolved in the weeks ahead, with the intent of payments being finalized by the end of May 2024.

Change Healthcare (CHC), which UnitedHealthcare owns through its Optum subsidiary, had impacts to their systems and services after the cyberattack in February. The incident led to outages in these services for payers, providers and other parts of the U.S. health care system, including GEHA. GEHA works with CHC to provide several services to our members and providers, including payment processing, explanation of benefit (EOB) distribution and mail services.

Due to the cyberattack on CHC's system, GEHA has been unable to access EOBs or process some claims and payments to providers and members. The systems and processes that CHC provides GEHA have been moved to an alternate method that we’ve diligently tested in phases before rolling out fully. This alternative method was implemented in April 2024 and we've been sending out payments from February as we test this new process. The new solution and processes have proven successful in the initial phases, as such we are now shifting into an accelerated phase of payment processing.

Payments and corresponding documents impacted by the CHC incident will be received by providers and members over the next several weeks with the intent by the end of May. Your payment information will be available on geha.com when you sign in to your portal. Printed EOBs will be mailed but digital versions of other payment related documents may be unavailable, and at this time our Customer Care representatives don’t have access to this information. All claims and payments are being processed in chronological order.

Migrating to a new solution takes time and thorough quality assurance to ensure no additional unintended impacts to member and provider services. To address this, our teams have implemented a phased, and measured, rollout to resume normal operations. We thank you for your patience while this process was tested.

At this point GEHA has no knowledge of member data being compromised. UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of CHC, is offering no-cost credit monitoring to anyone impacted. Please see information in Member FAQs for details.

See below for answers to the questions we're receiving from our members and providers. We will update this page as more information becomes available.

Provider assistance


For providers who receive payments from payers that were processed by Change Healthcare, there is a temporary funding assistance support program to help with short-term cash flow. We highly encourage impacted providers to take advantage of a Temporary Funding Assistance Program offered by Optum, which owns CHC. Optum assistance is available for any providers that received payments from GEHA via CHC. The Program offers providers interest-free loans to help with short-term cash flow problems caused by the cyberattack.

Optum Temporary Funding: Optum Temporary Funding Assistance

Optum has a simple video with step-by-step instructions on how to navigate this process:
Optum Temporary Funding Assistance Program webinar


Connection Dental Providers who work with payors other than GEHA should contact those payors directly to inquire about the status of payments.


No. This outage does not impact your access to providers. There was an interruption in prescription services from Optum immediately after the outage occurred, but this has been resolved. Please continue to get needed health care services while the back-office administrative issue is being resolved.

GEHA members are unable to access Explanation of Benefits (EOBs) online, however with our accelerated processing the mailing of EOBs has commenced. There may also be a delay in claims processing for payments to health care providers or to members who paid out-of-pocket. Some Flexible Spending Account (FSA) payments may be delayed due to the need for documentation before processing payment.

No. GEHA's internal technology and systems were not directly impacted by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare.

No action is needed from members. GEHA is working diligently to resolve this issue.

The cyberattack on Change Healthcare took place Feb. 21, 2024. The effects of this event are still impacting the broader U.S. health care industry. GEHA is working diligently to resolve this issue.

GEHA is processing payments chronologically beginning from the last day of claims processing when the CHC cybersecurity issue took place on Feb. 21, 2024. The new processing solution is being implemented in phases, and will take time to fully work through backlogs, to ensure no additional impact to service. GEHA is projecting payments to be processed by the end of May 2024. GEHA Customer Care associates unfortunately do not have access to upcoming payments.

GEHA is working through claims in a chronological order beginning from the last day of claims processing when the CHC cybersecurity issue took place on Feb. 21, 2024. We are diligently working through the backlog and are projecting completion targeted for the end of May 2024.

The CHC cyberattack affected GEHA's ability to view member EOBs, and our Customer Care associates have not had access to all documents. Access to EOBs has commenced via EOBs being mailed. Electronic EOBs are still unavailable. The print EOBs are being processed in chronological order beginning from the last days of claims processing on Feb. 20, 2024.

To date, GEHA has no evidence that member data was compromised as a result of this incident. Additionally, GEHA is proactively monitoring the situation. The security of our members' data and personal health information is of utmost importance to us. We have proactively implemented a robust monitoring process. Our team of cybersecurity experts are constantly assessing if our member data has been impacted.

At this time we have no evidence that GEHA member data has been compromised in this incident. UnitedHealth Group, which owns Optum and CHC, has established a dedicated website for potentially impacted individuals at changecybersupport.com. GEHA members can visit this website to get more information and details on resources that UnitedHealth Group is offering in response to this incident. UnitedHealth Group has established a dedicated call center to offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protections for two years to anyone impacted. The call center will also include trained clinicians to provide support services. UnitedHealth Group has indicated on April 22, 2024, that, given the ongoing nature and complexity of the data review, it may take several months for them to identify and notify impacted individuals. The call center will not be able to provide any specifics on individual data impact until that time.

UnitedHealth Group's call center can be reached at 866.262.5342 and further details can be found on the website.

Yes. Based on the services Change Healthcare provides to GEHA, GEHA is experiencing disruptions to things like member and provider letter print and mail services, Explanation of Benefit (EOB) retrieval and payment processing for dental providers, out of network medical providers and members. At this time GEHA has no evidence that member data has been compromised.

No. GEHA's internal technology and systems were not directly impacted by the cyberattack on Change Healthcare.

It isn't necessary for providers to contact GEHA. GEHA has implemented an alternate method to restore both provider and member payment processing and access to impacted member and provider documents. Payment processing is accelerating and we have targeted completion by the end of May. GEHA will proactively communicate with providers and members on updates, including any actions providers or members should take. Please monitor this webpage for updates. The GEHA Customer Care team is unable to view documents impacted during the timeframe of the outage. Notification of e-payments will be normal confirmation and more information on payment method is available in your provider portal. Your form of payment will be the same as previously elected.

GEHA has actively been working on a contingency plan to restore both provider and member payment processing and access to impacted member and provider documents. A remediation plan is now in place to resume provider e-payments. We've implemented a plan to resume claims processing and payments have commenced, with line of sight to completion in the weeks ahead with intent by the end of May 2024.

Payments are being processed in a chronological order beginning from the last day of claims processing on Feb. 20, 2024. Payments and corresponding documents impacted by the CHC incident are now beginning to process and will generate over the coming weeks. GEHA Customer Care associates do not have access to upcoming payments.

GEHA is not paying interest per OPM and GEHA contracts. This was an industry-wide event.

Payments are being processed in chronological order beginning with the first date of impact, which was Feb. 20, 2024. We appreciate your patience as we carefully work through the backlog of outstanding claims. GEHA has the data on these claims, and no action is necessary to resubmit them.

We have our normal provider dispute process where you can write in to appeal a claim. Currently the time frame for claims dispute is six months from the original date of the claim. Claim disputes must be received in writing.

If nothing has changed on your end, we do not need updated info. Please see your Provider Portal for contact information if you need to enroll or update your VCC/ACH payment information to our payment processing system.

GEHA commenced EOB processing and payments on out-of-network provider claims to members on April 29, 2024. Payments and EOBs are being processed by an alternate method in chronological order from the date services were impacted by the Change Healthcare cyberattack on Feb. 21, 2024.

Payments facilitated by UnitedHealthcare to providers in the UnitedHealthcare medical networks are not impacted by this incident. However, GEHA is not currently able to facilitate payments to providers within the Aetna network, to out-of-network providers, or related to claim adjustments to in-network UnitedHealthcare network providers. All dental network payments and payments to reimburse members are also impacted at this time.

If the claim is submitted to GEHA or one of GEHA's partners (such as UHC or Aetna) using a clearinghouse other than CHC, GEHA can accept and process the claim as normal. However, GEHA is processing claims in chronological order as described in the FAQ immediately above.

Connection Dental Providers who work with payors other than GEHA should contact those payors directly to inquire about the status of payments. Additional information, if provided, can be found on the payor tab at connectiondental.com.

United Health Group has also provided access to the following information and resources:

UHG Cyber Event Information: Information on the Change Healthcare Cyber Response — UnitedHealth Group

Specifically, for providers who receive payments from payers that were processed by Change Healthcare, there is a temporary funding assistance support program to help with short-term cash flow needs.

Optum Temporary Funding: Optum Temporary Funding Assistance