The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit against Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) will go to mediation on Aug. 18.
The DOJ sued the two companies starting in November of last year to block the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum from acquiring Amedisys due to antitrust concerns. The case will now go to a mediation conference before a magistrate judge. A mediation conference is a method of alternative dispute resolution in which a neutral third party helps parties in a legal dispute to reach an agreeable solution.
“UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and Amedisys, Inc. are two of the largest home health and hospice service providers in the country,” DOJ indicated in its complaint filed with the court. “Today, competition between UnitedHealth and Amedisys benefits millions of Americans who need home health or hospice services. But the proposed merger between UnitedHealth and Amedisys would forever eliminate that competition.”
The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum, in June 2023 inked its agreement to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion. Last summer, the DOJ began investigating potential antitrust concerns related to the deal.
DOJ’s chief concern is that the combination of the two companies would dampen competition in the hospice and home health space. Should the transaction proceed, Optum would control 30% or more of the home health or hospice services in eight states, according to the complaint. The deal would expand Optum’s home health and hospice footprint to five additional states, allowing the company to gain nearly 500 locations in 32 states.
The DOJ alleges that UnitedHealth Group is overcoming the competition by acquiring them rather than beating them in the market. The insurance mammoth last year also purchased the home health and hospice provider LHC Group for $5.4 billion.
The state attorneys general of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York are also plaintiffs in the suit.
The post DOJ’s Amedisys-UnitedHealth Group Lawsuit Will Go to Mediation appeared first on Home Health Care News.
