Anthem $115 Million Data Breach Settlement: Payout Status

Who qualifies

• You received a notice from Anthem about the 2015 data breach, or your personal information was taken in the breach.
• You did not opt out before the December 29, 2017 exclusion deadline.
• You filed a claim for credit monitoring or the alternative cash payment before January 29, 2018, or a claim for out-of-pocket reimbursement before the roughly August 2019 deadline. Both windows are closed.
• The class covered members of Anthem-affiliated and certain other Blue Cross Blue Shield plans whose data was stored on Anthem's systems — an estimated 78.8 million people.

Anthem settlement payout status — what happens now

1. 1

   The claim windows closed in 2018 and 2019

   The deadline to claim credit monitoring or the alternative cash payment was January 29, 2018. The deadline to claim documented out-of-pocket losses ran about one year after final approval, closing around August 2019. Both are closed — there is no way to file a new Anthem claim in 2026.

2. 2

   The court approved the record $115 million settlement in August 2018

   U.S. District Judge Lucy H. Koh of the Northern District of California granted final approval in mid-August 2018 in In re Anthem, Inc. Data Breach Litigation. She also cut class counsel's fees to about $31 million, well below what was requested, redirecting attention to the class benefit.

3. 3

   Cash and monitoring were paid starting late 2018

   Alternative cash checks of up to $50 began mailing around November 20, 2018 (the notice had estimated up to $36; the amount rose because few people chose cash). Class members who chose monitoring received at least two years of Experian credit monitoring. That monitoring has since expired.

4. 4

   Out-of-pocket reimbursements followed in late 2019

   Claims for documented out-of-pocket losses — up to $10,000 each, from a roughly $15 million pool — were paid starting around November 2019. The fund is fully distributed, so nothing is still being paid.

5. 5

   Two different Anthem programs — don't mix them up

   Right after the 2015 breach, Anthem offered free AllClear ID monitoring to everyone affected. That was separate from the settlement's Experian monitoring, which required a claim. If you're searching your records, the settlement benefit was through Experian.

6. 6

   Never miss the next health-data settlement — ClaimBee alerts you

   Health insurers and hospitals keep settling breach and privacy cases, and the claim windows are short. ClaimBee scans 2,000+ cases, matches them to your profile, and tracks every deadline so you file the next one before it closes.

Frequently asked questions