STAT+: DOJ and UnitedHealth reach settlement on $3.3 billion Amedisys deal

The Department of Justice and state officials have reached a proposed settlement agreement with UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys that would allow the companies to complete their $3.3 billion combination so long as they agree to sell 164 home health and hospice locations across 19 states. 

The settlement, which still must be approved by a judge, would allow UnitedHealth to acquire Amedisys, a large home health and hospice provider, while avoiding a trial. The DOJ had sued to block the deal in Maryland federal court in November, along with the attorneys general of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, arguing that it would hurt competition by uniting two of the country’s largest providers of home health and hospice care. The government said the settlement resolves those claims. 

The settlement would require UnitedHealth and Amedisys to divest those assets to BrightSpring Health Services, a home and community-based provider headquartered in Louisville, Ky., and The Pennant Group, a home health and hospice provider based in Eagle, Idaho. Combined, the locations being divested account for about $528 million in annual revenue, the DOJ said. 

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