U.S. Regulators Seek to Block UnitedHealth’s $3.3 Billion Purchase of Home Care Company
The New York Times
The Justice Department and four Democratic state attorneys general argued that United’s takeover would limit competition and harm consumers needing home or hospice care.
The Justice Department and four Democratic state attorneys general on Tuesday filed an antitrust lawsuit against the giant UnitedHealth Group in an attempt to block its $3.3 billion deal to take over Amedisys, a large home health company.
“Unless this $3.3 billion transaction is stopped, UnitedHealth Group will further extend its grip to home health and hospice care, threatening seniors, their families and nurses,” Jonathan Kanter, the assistant attorney general who heads the department’s antitrust division, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Antitrust regulators have been reviewing the proposed acquisition amid a federal inquiry into UnitedHealth’s sprawling dominance across nearly every segment of health care. As one of the biggest U.S. companies overall, with $372 billion in revenue in 2023, UnitedHealth’s operations include the nation’s largest health insurer and its Optum subsidiary, which oversees some 90,000 physicians, clinics and is a large pharmacy benefit manager. Last year, United bought one of the nation’s largest home health outfits, LHC Group.
The company had come under broader scrutiny this year when the Justice Department began an antitrust investigation as part of the Biden administration’s crackdown on what it considered to be anti-competitive behavior among corporate behemoths like Apple and Google.
Filed in federal court in Maryland just one week after the presidential election, the lawsuit was joined by the Democratic attorneys general from Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York.
UnitedHealth Group argued that its merger would give consumers more choices. “The Amedisys combination with Optum would be pro-competitive and further innovation, leading to improved patient outcomes and greater access to quality care,” Optum said in a statement. “We will vigorously defend against the D.O.J.’s overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws.”
