UnitedHealth Group, along with its Optum Health unit, is the subject of an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
The agency has interviewed healthcare leaders at doctors’ groups and other organizations competing with UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries in the past few weeks, according to the Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. Investigators reportedly have inquired about relationships between UnitedHealthcare and Optum, the largest employer of physicians, and how the healthcare conglomerate's acquisitions of doctor groups affect competition.
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Optum Health has been on a physician hiring frenzy over the past year but hasn't disclosed many details about specific acquisitions. At its annual investor conference in November, Optum said it had 90,000 employed or affiliated physicians, an increase of almost 30% from the beginning of 2023. An additional 40,000 advanced practice clinicians worked for Optum as of November.
UnitedHealth plans to acquire Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based hospice and home healthcare provider Amedisys for $3.3 billion but the transaction has not closed. In October, Democratic lawmakers urged the FTC and Justice Department to look into the deal.
UnitedHealth Group and the Justice Department did not immediately return a request for comment. The two declined to comment to the Journal.
UnitedHealth Group's net earnings rose 12% to $23.1 billion for 2023, as revenues increased 14.6% to $371.6 billion. Nearly half of UnitedHealth’s $32.4 billion earnings from operations last year came from its Optum segment, which includes its provider services division, its pharmacy benefit manager OptumRx, and its revenue cycle management and data analytics business.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission have been outspoken about their concerns regarding healthcare mergers and acquisitions. President Joe Biden signed an executive order in 2021 directing the agencies to prioritize looking into the effects of hospital and insurance consolidation on consumers.
In 2022, the Justice Department sued to block UnitedHealth’s $13 billion acquisition of technology company Change Healthcare. At the time, the agency said the deal violated federal antitrust laws since it would give the company information on how its rivals pay providers, but a federal judge allowed the deal to go forward with conditions. Change Healthcare is facing network disruptions for its seventh day, following a cyberattack last Wednesday against the claims processor, which is relied on by many health systems and pharmacies.
Regulators also previously requested information about UnitedHealth's $5.4 billion merger with Lafayette, Louisiana-based home health provider LHC Group before opting to not block the deal.
The agencies have had several wins. The FTC sued to block West Orange, New Jersey-based RWJBarnabas Health’s proposed acquisition of New Brunswick, New Jersey-based St. Peter’s Healthcare System in June 2022. Other health systems have scrapped proposed deals following FTC lawsuits.
State regulators also have grown more skeptical of healthcare mergers. Elevance Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and SCAN Group and CareOregon scrapped their merger plans this month after facing challenges in their respective states.
