(Updates to add report of criminal probe for possible Medicare

fraud)

May 15 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) is under

federal investigation for possible criminal fraud involving its

Medicare program, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday,

the latest in a series of setbacks for the insurer.

The company has grappled with several challenges over

the past year, including a surge in medical costs, a cyber

attack at its tech unit, the killing of its insurance unit head

and subsequent public backlash against the industry.

The following is a timeline of key events for the company

since 2024:

January 12, 2024

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) shares fall after medical services costs at the

healthcare conglomerate surpass Wall Street expectations for the

first time in two years, even as it beats fourth-quarter profit

and revenue estimates.

February 21, 2024

UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) tech unit, Change Healthcare, is hit by

a cybersecurity attack on its systems.

February 28, 2024

In a message posted to, and then quickly deleted from their

darknet site, the hackers blamed for the strike say they stole

millions of sensitive records, including medical insurance and

health data, from the company.

February 29, 2024

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) says the cyber attack was perpetrated by

hackers who identified themselves as the "Blackcat" ransomware

group.

March 13, 2024

The U.S. government says it has opened an investigation into

the cyber attack to find out whether there was a breach of

protected health data and if the company followed U.S. health

privacy law.

March 13, 2024

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) says its unit Change Healthcare's

pharmacy network is back online, weeks after the fallout from

the cyber attack swept across the country's healthcare system

that depends heavily on insurance.

April 16, 2024

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) says it expects the hack of its Change

Healthcare unit to cost the company up to $1.6 billion in 2024,

but maintained its annual earnings forecast, suggesting the

cyber attack's impact was less severe than many on Wall Street

had feared.

May 1, 2024

Hackers who breached UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) tech unit in February

potentially stole a third of Americans' data, the largest U.S.

health insurer's CEO tells a Congressional committee.

July 16, 2024

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts a bigger hit to annual earnings from

the February hack at its tech unit, but maintains its full-year

profit forecast.

September 20, 2024

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sues the country's three

largest pharmacy benefit managers, accusing them of steering

diabetes patients towards higher-priced insulin to reap millions

of dollars in rebates from pharmaceutical companies.

October 15, 2024

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) provides a 2025 profit forecast below

Wall Street estimates as it expects pressure across its

government-supported health insurance businesses.

November 12, 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice and three U.S. states file a

lawsuit to block UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) $3.3 billion acquisition

of Amedisys, citing concerns that the deal would reduce

competition in the home health services market.

December 4, 2024

Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) insurance unit, is

killed outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel ahead of the company's

investor day in what police described as a targeted attack by a

gunman lying in wait for him.

December 23, 2024

Luigi Mangione, the man accused of fatally gunning down

Thompson on a Manhattan street, pleads not guilty to New York

state murder charges that brand him a terrorist.

January 16, 2025

At the company's first earnings call since the murder of

Thompson, CEO Andrew Witty says healthcare in the U.S. needs to

be "less confusing, less complex and less costly."

Witty says the company will work with policymakers to reduce

the frequency of prior authorization approvals required before a

patient can access medical treatment in its Medicare business

for people aged 65 and older or with disabilities.

January 24, 2025

The company says the cyber attack at its tech unit last year

affected the personal information of 190 million people, making

it the largest healthcare data breach in the United States.

February 21, 2025

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating UnitedHealth's ( UNH )

Medicare billing practices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The

health insurer says it is unaware of any new probe underway.

February 25, 2025

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley requests detailed information on

UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) Medicare billing practices in a letter to CEO

Andrew Witty.

April 4, 2025

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission's lawsuit against pharmacy

benefit managers over insulin pricing practices will likely move

forward again after being paused amid President Donald Trump's

firing of the agency's two Democratic commissioners.

April 17, 2025

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) surprises investors with what its CEO

said was an "unusual and unacceptable" quarterly earnings miss,

and lowers its outlook for the full year due to

higher-than-expected medical costs, sparking a more than 20%

selloff in shares that reverberated across the sector.

April 21, 2025

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) says it spent nearly $1.7 million on

security for its top executives in 2024, months after the fatal

shooting of senior executive Brian Thompson.

May 7, 2025

The company is sued for allegedly concealing how backlash

from the killing of Thompson was damaging its business.

May 13, 2025

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) suspends its 2025 forecast due to surging

medical costs, and CEO Andrew Witty steps down suddenly.

May 14, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice is carrying out a criminal

investigation into UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) for possible Medicare

fraud, the Wall Street Journal reports.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) says it has not been notified by the DOJ about

the "supposed criminal investigation reported".