UnitedHealth, Amedisys enter mediation with DOJ over block on $3.3B merger
The $3.3 billion merger between UnitedHealth Group and homecare giant Amedisys is heading to mediation after the companies failed to resolve antitrust concerns raised by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which sued to block the transaction in November.
Last week, a federal district court in Maryland scheduled a conference during which the three parties will work with a magistrate to see if they can come to a mutual solution. In its complaint, the DOJ stated that if Amedisys is folded into UnitedHealth’s Optum division, it would result in an over-consolidation of healthcare-at-home and hospice services—leading not only to limited choice but also to higher prices for patients.
Specifically, the DOJ believes 20 states would be adversely affected if the merger were successful. Multiple states have signed on as co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Illinois. All of these states argue that consumer choice would be irreparably diminished if Optum takes over Amedisys’s services.
At the center of the filing is UnitedHealth’s current ownership of Amedisys’s largest nationwide competitor, LHC Group—which UnitedHealth acquired in 2023 for $5.4 billion. The two companies agreed to divest from 120 of their overlapping medical facilities if the deal is approved, but the offer was not sufficient to satisfy regulators.
Attempts to have the DOJ's lawsuit dismissed have also failed.
As it stands, if the transaction goes through without concessions, Optum would control more than 30% of home health and hospice services in some states, according to the DOJ’s legal complaint. Concerns mainly center around 13 states where one company would control what regulators consider an unacceptably high share of the market.
Growing concern over UnitedHealth's influence
More broadly, regulators have expressed fear over UnitedHealth’s growing control of the American healthcare system. The company's influence was highlighted by the February 2023 breach of Optum’s Change Healthcare, the nation’s largest claims processor, which effectively shut down reimbursement operations across the country.
Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has named UnitedHealth and Optum as defendants in a separate lawsuit targeting the business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Optum Rx stands accused of anticompetitive practices that resulted in drug price fixing, with insulin being the focal point of the FTC’s complaint.
Mediation to address the DOJ’s concerns has been scheduled for August. It remains unclear whether all parties will be able to agree on acceptable terms—or what the next steps will be if that mediation fails.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.