UnitedHealth Group is firing back at the Department of Justice (DOJ), arguing in a court filing that its case rests on “speculative theories” for how the healthcare giant could behave once it completes its acquisition of Change Healthcare, reports Fierce Healthcare.
UHG announced in January 2021 that it would purchase Change in a deal worth nearly $8 billion in cash and $5 billion in debt. The two companies expected the deal to close in the latter half of 2021 but postponed consummating the merger until February to allow DOJ to conduct its investigation.
The Justice Department sued to block the deal Feb. 24, just a few days shy of the companies’ planned closure date.
In the suit, for example, the feds argue that the acquisition would establish a monopoly in first-pass claims editing tools, which are offered by both Change and UnitedHealth’s OptumInsight. However, UnitedHealth countered that it had agreed to divest Change’s claims editing business several months ago and is currently gathering bids with the expectation that the divestiture will close in the next few weeks. Read more.
