BREAKING: “UnitedHealth Backtracks: Drops Motion to Dismiss DOJ’s Antitrust Case in $3.3B Amedisys Deal – What’s Next for the Healthcare Giant?”

UnitedHealth Group has decided to withdraw its motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s antitrust challenge regarding its proposed acquisition of Amedisys, a home care and hospice provider. The company stated that a government filing in late January provided additional information that made its previous motion to dismiss unnecessary.

Initially, UnitedHealth Group had argued that the Justice Department’s original complaint, filed in November, lacked specificity regarding the geographic boundaries of the markets affected by the acquisition. The Justice Department had alleged that the acquisition would likely be anticompetitive. However, the recent government filing appears to have addressed these concerns, prompting UnitedHealth Group to withdraw its motion.

This development suggests that the antitrust case will proceed, with both parties now focusing on the substantive issues related to the potential anticompetitive effects of the acquisition. The outcome of this case could have significant implications for the health care industry, particularly in the home care and hospice sectors.

UnitedHealth Group has withdrawn its motion to dismiss the Justice Department’s ongoing antitrust challenge to a proposed acquisition, saying a government filing in late January provided information that rendered the company’s previous motion moot.
The Eden Prairie-based health care giant argued last month the Justice Department’s original complaint did not specify the exact geographic boundaries of the markets at issue when it alleged in November that UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of home care and hospice provider Amedisys would be presumptively anticompetitive.