Anthem Lawsuit and Data Breach: What Is Settled, What Is Still Open
Reference Guide
Most people searching “Anthem data breach” mean the 2015 hack that exposed 78.8 million people. That case ended in a $115 million settlement approved on August 15, 2018 — there is no new claim form for it. As of October 2026, the Anthem cases that are actually moving are different: a ghost-network class action in Connecticut, a proton beam settlement whose claim deadline passed on October 10, 2026, and the separate Blue Cross Blue Shield antitrust payments.
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What the 2015 Anthem Data Breach Was
On February 4, 2015, Anthem (now Elevance Health) disclosed that hackers had broken into its servers. On February 24, 2015 it raised the count to 78.8 million people. The breach reached several Anthem-run Blue Cross brands, including Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia.
According to the HHS Office for Civil Rights investigation as reported by Healthcare Dive, the attackers got in through phishing emails and stole data between December 2, 2014 and January 27, 2015: names, Social Security numbers, medical identification numbers, addresses, birth dates, email addresses and employment information. State insurance regulators dated the first intrusion to February 18, 2014. Anthem told the SEC it found no evidence that credit card or medical information — claims, test results, diagnostic codes — was taken.
The class action lawsuit alleged Anthem failed to protect that data. Anthem settled without admitting wrongdoing.
Case details
About 100 class actions were filed. In June 2015 the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent them to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California as In re Anthem, Inc. Data Breach Litigation, No. 15-md-02617 (MDL 2617), before Judge Lucy Koh. The parties agreed to settle in June 2017; preliminary approval followed in August 2017 and final approval on August 15, 2018. Objectors appealed to the Ninth Circuit, and Anthem reported that three related state-court cases were dismissed with prejudice.
Regulators settled separately: $16 million to the HHS Office for Civil Rights in October 2018, with a two-year corrective action plan, and $39.5 million to a group of state attorneys general in 2020, which Anthem called the last open investigation into the attack.
Status: Every Anthem Case in One Place
Ghost networks — active. Mazzola v. Anthem Health Plans, Inc., No. 3:25-cv-01433, District of Connecticut, Judge Omar A. Williams, filed September 3, 2025 against Anthem Health Plans, Carelon Behavioral Health and Elevance Health. The lawsuit alleges that over 70% of doctors listed in the behavioral health directories do not exist, are out of network, take no new patients or are listed wrongly. Anthem has moved to dismiss; on April 17, 2026 the court paused discovery until that motion is decided. We found no ruling on that motion and no settlement in the sources we could check.
Proton beam therapy — claims closed. Taylor v. Anthem Insurance Companies, No. 3:23-cv-00541, Middle District of Tennessee: a $3,625,000 settlement for about 140 prostate cancer patients who alleged Anthem improperly denied proton beam coverage. The mailed claim deadline was October 10, 2026 and has passed. Details: our proton beam settlement report.
Other Anthem settlements with their own pages. If a card or check says “Anthem” or “Blue Cross Blue Shield,” it is almost certainly the antitrust settlement, explained on our Anthem BCBS settlement page. The residential mental health treatment settlement closed claims in January 2026 — see Anthem residential treatment settlement. A newer breach notice from Wellpoint Texas is covered on its own page.
Who Was Affected
2015 breach: people whose personal information was affected — 78.8 million, per Anthem’s update of February 24, 2015. Members who were under 18 on January 27, 2015 were offered a credit protection program equivalent to a credit freeze.
2023 NASCO incident: a separate event. NASCO, a claims vendor, was hit through the MOVEit file-transfer tool; files were taken on May 30, 2023. Anthem posted a substitute notice on October 23, 2023. Exposed data could include subscriber ID (sometimes containing a Social Security number), claim number, provider name, procedure code and dates of service.
Ghost-network case: the case is a putative class action brought by Anthem plan members and a plan sponsor. You do not need to sign up; if a class is certified or a settlement is reached, notice comes from a court-appointed administrator.
What the Anthem Data Breach Settlement Paid
Today there is no fund to claim from for the 2015 breach that we could find, and the ghost-network case has no settlement, no fund and no claim form. The $16 million HHS payment and $39.5 million attorneys general payment went to the government, not to individuals.
How cases like this one end
Our copy of the federal courts’ own case database covers 129,730 other contract casesclosed in U.S. federal district courts between 2015 and 2026, 6% of them filed as class actions:
- 30.7% ended in a settlement recorded by the court. Another 20.2% were dismissed voluntarily, which often follows a private settlement — so the real settlement share sits between 30.7% and 50.9%.
- 7.5% were decided on a motion before any trial.
- 1 in 72 reached a trial (1.4%), after a median of 29.3 months.
- Median time from filing to the end of the case: 7.6 months.
- Only 7,691 of them (5.9%) record a money award at all; the median of those is $407,000.
These are base rates for this type of case (federal other contract cases) — not a prediction about this lawsuit, and not legal advice. Source: Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (civil), analysed by Settlement Insight. Cases heard in state courts are not included.
Anthem Lawsuit Timeline
December 2014 – January 2015 — The Data Is Stolen
Per the OCR investigation, attackers who got in through phishing take records from December 2, 2014 to January 27, 2015.
February 2015 — 78.8 Million People
Anthem discloses the breach on February 4 and raises the count to 78.8 million on February 24. Around 100 lawsuits follow.
August 15, 2018 — $115 Million Settlement Approved
Judge Lucy Koh grants final approval in MDL 2617 in the Northern District of California.
October 2018 and 2020 — Regulators Settle
Anthem pays $16 million to HHS in October 2018 and $39.5 million to state attorneys general in 2020.
September 3, 2025 — Ghost-Network Class Action Filed
Mazzola v. Anthem Health Plans is filed in the District of Connecticut. Discovery is paused on April 17, 2026 pending a motion to dismiss.
October 10, 2026 — Proton Beam Claim Deadline Passes
The mailed-claim deadline in the $3,625,000 Taylor proton beam settlement passed on October 10, 2026. No Anthem data breach claim form is open.
Three Anthem Scams to Watch For
A famous breach and real payments from other Anthem settlements are a perfect cover for imposters:
“Claim your Anthem data breach settlement now”
The $115 million settlement was approved in 2018 and we found no open claim form. A page asking for your Social Security number to “reopen” a 2015 claim is collecting data, not filing anything.
Calls tying the breach to your BCBS payment
Real Blue Cross Blue Shield antitrust payments are going out, and callers mix them up with the breach to sound informed. No administrator calls to ask for a fee, a bank login or your full Social Security number.
“Late filing” offers for the proton beam settlement
The Taylor claim deadline was October 10, 2026, and claims went by mail to the administrator. Anyone charging to slip in a late claim is not working with the court.
Anthem Lawsuit — Questions People Actually Ask
Short answers to the questions people ask most about this case.
Is there an Anthem data breach settlement I can still claim?
Not that we could find. The $115 million Anthem data breach settlement for the 2015 hack was approved on August 15, 2018. We could not load the official site on October 17, 2026 to check its final status, but there is no new claim form for the 2015 breach.
Did Blue Cross Blue Shield have a data breach?
The 2015 Anthem breach covered Anthem-run Blue Cross brands, including Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia. Other Blue Cross companies are independent and have their own incidents. The BCBS payments arriving now come from an antitrust settlement, not a breach.
How can I tell if I had a data breach?
Check your mail. For the 2023 NASCO vendor incident, most affected people received direct notice, and Anthem posted a substitute notice on October 23, 2023 for those it could not reach. The NASCO notice lists an Experian line, 1-855-873-7643, for questions.
Am I entitled to compensation for a data breach?
Only if a settlement covers you and you file by its deadline. For the 2015 Anthem breach, class members could claim credit monitoring, out-of-pocket losses or alternative cash from a $51 million pool. That deadline is long past. Being in a breach does not by itself entitle you to money.
Is there a new class action lawsuit Anthem members can join?
As of October 2026, the active Anthem class action we verified is Mazzola v. Anthem Health Plans (No. 3:25-cv-01433, District of Connecticut) over allegedly inaccurate mental health provider directories. You do not join it by signing up; it has no settlement.
How many people were affected by the Anthem data breach?
78.8 million, per Anthem’s update of February 24, 2015. Federal regulators described it as the largest health data breach in U.S. history.
What did the Anthem settlement with HHS and the states pay?
$16 million to the HHS Office for Civil Rights in October 2018, with a two-year corrective action plan, and $39.5 million to state attorneys general in 2020. That money went to the government, not to individual members.
What is worth doing right now?
If your Social Security number was in an Anthem notice, a free credit freeze at all three bureaus is still worth having. Read your explanation-of-benefits statements for care you never received. Ignore anyone offering to file a 2015 Anthem claim for a fee.
About This Information
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology. Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated - $236 billion in real payouts analyzed · See what we found
This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Lawsuit status, eligibility, and compensation can change. Settlement Insight is not a law firm and does not represent any party. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.
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Similar cases we track
- Anthem BCBS SettlementThe antitrust settlement behind the cards and checks arriving now
- Anthem Residential Treatment SettlementMental health treatment denials, claims closed January 2026
- Data Breach Settlement CalculatorWhat comparable breach settlements have paid per person
- Open Class Action SettlementsSettlements still taking claims, with deadlines