[updated] Doj Files Proposed Final Judgment On Amedisys, Unitedhealth Merger

On Thursday, Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorneys General of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York filed a proposed final judgment regarding the UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) planned acquisition of Amedisys.

UnitedHealth and Amedisys agreed to the proposed final judgment, which, if approved, would resolve the DOJ’s and states’ opposition to the merger.

The proposed judgment would require UnitedHealth and Amedisys to divest at least 164 home health and hospice facilities, including one affiliated palliative care facility, across 19 states, worth approximately $528 million in annual revenue. It would also impose a $1.1 million civil penalty on Amedisys for falsely certifying that it had provided “true, correct and complete” responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, according to a DOJ announcement. 

“In no sector of our economy is competition more important to Americans’ well-being than health care,” Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division said in the statement. “This settlement protects quality and price competition for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients and wage competition for thousands of nurses. I commend the Antitrust Division’s Staff for doggedly investigating and prosecuting this case on behalf of seniors, hospice patients, nurses and their families.”

The divestitures would be required within 75 days of the court entering an Asset Preservation/Hold Separate Stipulation and Order or within 60 days of all necessary merger clearances under Indiana and West Virginia law, whichever is later.

The proposed judgment is subject to judicial approval under the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act and remains subject to certain conditions, according to the announcement.

The DOJ sued to block UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Amedisys in 2024, calling the deal “presumptively anticompetitive and illegal.”

“We are challenging this merger because home health and hospice patients and their families experiencing some of the most difficult moments of their lives deserve affordable, high-quality care options,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time. “The Justice Department will not hesitate to check unlawful consolidation and monopolization in the health care market that threatens to harm vulnerable patients, their families, and health care workers.”

This story is developing. Check back here for updates.

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