UnitedHealth sticks to 2024 outlook despite strong quarter with costs from massive cyberattack high

UnitedHealth topped second-quarter forecasts but remains cautious about the year as it continues to eat costs from a massive cyberattack and deals with rising medical expenses.

The health care giant on Tuesday said it was sticking with an earnings forecast for 2024 it first laid out last fall that includes some costs from the attack earlier this year on its Change Healthcare business.

Hackers gained access in February to Change's system and unleashed a ransomware attack that encrypted and froze large parts of it. Change provides technology used to submit insurance claims, and the attack disrupted payments and claims processing around country.

UnitedHealth booked $1.1 billion in total costs from the cyberattack in the second quarter.