DOJ reportedly prepping lawsuit to block UnitedHealth’s acquisition of Change Healthcare

The Department of Justice is preparing a lawsuit to block UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition of Change Healthcare, according to a report published Tuesday.

Both parties in the $13 billion transaction are slated to hold a “last rites” meeting with the DOJ, Dealreporter said, citing two anonymous sources with knowledge on the matter. The lawsuit looms as a timing agreement with the feds—stipulating that the two won’t consummate the merger prior to Feb. 22—is set to expire next week.

Nashville-based Change Healthcare, which provides radiology software solutions and is backed by the Blackstone Group, had contemplated selling off assets to appease antitrust regulators. But government officials have not identified any divestiture targets that would satisfy anti-competitive concerns, Dealreporter claimed.  

Reports previously surfaced in August that the Department of Justice was considering a suit to stop the merger. First proposed in January 2021, the deal would have UnitedHealth paying $8 billion to acquire Change while covering $5 billion more in debt. If finalized, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, healthcare giant (which also owns the nation’s largest commercial insurer) would fold Change into its Optum business line.

Several parties have spoken out against the two companies’ combination, including Change’s stockholders, the American Medical Association, the American Antitrust Institute and the American Hospital Association. Most recently, the National Community Pharmacists Association voiced its concerns, calling the combined entity a “corporate monster” that will only “gobble up more market share.”