UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys reached a proposed final settlement with the U.S. Justice Department and attorneys general from Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York to resolve an antitrust lawsuit that had stalled their $3.3 billion merger.
Here are eight things to know:
1. On Aug. 7, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland allowed the deal to proceed under a proposed final judgment requiring divestitures and federal oversight. The DOJ and state attorneys general filed suit in November 2024, alleging the merger would reduce competition in home health markets across at least 23 states and Washington, D.C.
2. As part of the settlement, UnitedHealth and Amedisys will divest 164 home health and hospice clinics in 19 states to BrightSpring Health Services and the Pennant Group, or other DOJ-approved buyers.
3. Additionally, the companies are prohibited from reacquiring the divested assets without DOJ approval, and if they fail to meet the divestiture terms, a court-appointed trustee will take over the process.
4. Optum announced the all-cash acquisition in June 2023, valued at $101 per share, after Amedisys terminated a merger agreement with Option Care Health, paying a $106 million termination fee.
5. The DOJ argued the acquisition, combined with Optum’s earlier purchase of LHC Group, would give UnitedHealth control over about 10% of the U.S. home health market.
6. Amedisys will pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for allegedly providing incomplete and inaccurate responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The court order will remain in effect for 10 years, with a possible early end after five years if the DOJ finds it unnecessary to continue.
7. As of late 2024, Optum operates 423 ASCs through SCA Health, more than 880 home health companies and employs or contracts with more than 90,000 physicians, about 10% of the U.S. physician workforce.
8. Wyatt Decker, CEO of Optum Health, told investors in January that home health offers a large opportunity to provide value-based care to members moving forward because of its convenience and ability to provide better access.
“You will see us both developing, if you will, the platform of home care increasingly in a comprehensive fashion, as well as integrating home care with our clinic-based care model,” he said. “And our ability to embed behavioral healthcare services within our primary care and value-based care offerings has been differentiated and will continue to grow, as well as our utilization of virtual behavioral care solutions in both the home and clinic environments.”
