In order to address antitrust concerns regarding UnitedHealth’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, a multistate coalition, and the U.S. Department of Justice filed a proposed settlement requiring UnitedHealth Group to sell off 164 home health and hospice locations across 19 states, including five in Maryland, and for Amedisys to pay a $1.1 million penalty.
According to the news release issued on Thursday, August 7, Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, and a multistate coalition filed a proposed settlement today that calls for extensive divestitures to address plaintiffs’ objections to UnitedHealth Group Incorporated’s (UnitedHealth) $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys, Inc. Furthermore, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, Amedisys would pay the US a $1.1 million civil penalty for pretending to have given genuine, accurate, and comprehensive answers.
According to Attorney General Brown, home health providers provide necessary medical treatment in the setting where patients feel most at ease—at home. By maintaining competition in the home health market, keeping care reasonably priced, paying fair salaries, and providing services, this settlement safeguards patients, families, and caregivers. Marylanders should have access to a healthcare system that prioritizes people before profits, particularly during life’s most vulnerable times.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, UnitedHealth and Amedisys would have to sell off 164 hospice and home health facilities (including one linked palliative care facility) spread over 19 states, which would generate about $528 million in income annually. Maryland is home to five of those divestment locations. The settlement would address a merger challenge by securing the largest outpatient healthcare service divestiture by number of facilities.
Furthermore, if UnitedHealth is unable to secure regulatory permission for the divestment of related facilities without the extra locations, the proposed settlement would compel them to sell off eight more locations.Establish a monitor to oversee UnitedHealth’s asset divestiture and adherence to the consent agreement.Give the buyers of the divestiture the resources, people, and connections they need to compete with UnitedHealth in the places where they overlap, like Salisbury, Maryland.Include strong safeguards to improve compliance with the order and discourage meddling with the divestiture buyers’ competitiveness.
The proposed settlement and a competitive effect statement will be published in the Federal Register in accordance with the Tunney Act. Written comments regarding the proposed settlement should be sent to Jill Maguire, Acting Chief, Healthcare and Consumer Products Section, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice, 450 Fifth Street NW, Suite 4100, Washington, DC 20530, within 60 days of the publication. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland may enter the final judgment at the end of the public comment period if it determines that it is in the public interest.
With its headquarters located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, UnitedHealth is a vertically integrated insurance company, healthcare provider, pharmacy benefit manager, and provider of healthcare software and services. In 2023, UnitedHealth purchased LHC Group Inc. (LHC), a competitor of Amedisys in the home health and hospice markets. Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Amedisys is a provider of hospice and home health services.
