UnitedHealth and Amedisys Reach Settlement with DOJ, Clearing Path for $3.3B Merger

UnitedHealth Group and home health company Amedisys have reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), allowing their $3.3 billion acquisition deal to move forward. The agreement, filed with the Maryland district court on Thursday, requires significant divestitures to address antitrust concerns raised by federal regulators and four states.

Divestiture Details and Settlement Terms

Under the terms of the settlement, UnitedHealth and Amedisys will divest 164 home health and hospice locations across 19 states. This represents the largest divestiture of outpatient facilities ever required to close a merger, based on the number of locations. The divested facilities account for approximately $528 million in annual revenue.

BrightSpring Health Services and Pennant Group have agreed to acquire the divested locations. BrightSpring will take on 115 sites, while Pennant will acquire 49. The vast majority of the divested locations provide home health services rather than hospice care.

Additional terms of the settlement include:

• UnitedHealth must sell eight additional locations if it fails to secure regulatory approval for the agreed-upon divestitures.
• The companies will divest stakes in 10 home health and hospice joint ventures.
• A monitor will be appointed to supervise the selling process.
• Buyers will receive necessary assets, personnel, and relationships to compete effectively with UnitedHealth.
• Protections are in place to prevent the merging parties from interfering with the divested locations' ability to compete.

Regulatory Concerns and Penalties

The DOJ, along with Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, had initially sued to block the merger in November 2025, citing concerns about reduced competition in the home health space. Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division emphasized the importance of competition in healthcare, stating that the settlement "protects quality and price competition for hundreds of thousands of vulnerable patients and wage competition for thousands of nurses."

As part of the settlement, Amedisys has agreed to pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for "falsely certifying that the company had truthfully, correctly, and completely responded to the United States' requests for documents." The company will also be required to provide additional compliance training to its leadership.

Market Impact and Future Outlook

The settlement marks a significant win for UnitedHealth, which initially proposed the acquisition in 2023. Once finalized, Amedisys will be absorbed into UnitedHealth's Optum unit, expanding its home health and hospice business to an additional five states and adding nearly 500 locations in the 32 states where it already competes.

While the settlement has been agreed upon by all parties, it still requires approval from a Maryland district judge following a period of public comment. The merger's completion is expected to further consolidate the home health and hospice market, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape in this crucial sector of the healthcare industry.