Gov’t reaches proposed settlement in UnitedHealth, Amedisys acquisition 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has filed a proposed settlement requiring United Health to divest of at least 164 home health and hospice facilities to resolve the challenge to its $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys. 

The facilities across 19 states account for about $528 million in annual revenue. 

“In no sector of our economy is competition more important to Americans’ well-being than health care,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “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 settlement also requires Amedisys to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty to the United States for falsely certifying that it had provided “true, correct and complete” responses under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Acts of 1976. 

In addition, the settlement would: 

• Obligate UnitedHealth to divest eight additional locations if it fails to obtain regulatory approval for the divestiture of associated facilities without the additional locations; 
• Impose a monitor to supervise UnitedHealth’s divestiture of the assets and compliance with the consent decree; 
• Provide the divestiture buyers with the assets, personnel and relationships to compete against UnitedHealth in the overlap areas; 
• Incorporate robust protections to strengthen adherence to the decree and deter interference with the divestiture buyers’ ability to compete; and 
• Require Amedisys to train its corporate and field leadership on antitrust compliance for falsely certifying that the company had truthfully, correctly, and completely responded to the United States’ requests for documents. 

As required by the Tunney Act, the proposed settlement, along with a competitive impact statement, will be published in the Federal Register. Any interested person should submit written comments concerning the proposed settlement within 60 days following the publication 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.