UnitedHealth Group is pushing back the timeline of its blockbuster $13 billion acquisition of radiology vendor Change Healthcare, the latter revealed in a recent regulatory filing.
The two healthcare heavyweights have been working to finalize their partnership for nearly a year, first announcing their proposed pact in January. But the two have since faced several impediments, including a Department of Justice investigation and opposition from the American Medical Association, American Hospital Association and several others over anticompetitive concerns.
Last we heard, Change and UnitedHealth had amended the timing of their merger, agreeing not to complete the deal prior to Feb. 22 after originally targeting 2021’s second half. However, now the two said they are extending the target date until April 5, according to a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
UnitedHealth, which also operates the nation’s largest commercial health plan, plans to fold the Nashville-based imaging tech company into its Optum business unit. All told, the Minnetonka, Minnesota, health giant would pay $8 billion to acquire Change while assuming $5 million more in debt. At UnitedHealth’s recent investor day, executives said they were “highly energized about the positive impact” that could be seen if the deal is completed, Forbes reported Wednesday.
Several parties have spoken out against the two companies’ proposed 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 “gobble up more market share.”
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.