The Justice Department and two states have ended their legal efforts to block UnitedHealth Group’s $13 billion purchase of technology company Change Healthcare.
The agency and the attorney generals in New York and Minnesota on Monday filed paperwork with the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Court to voluntarily dismiss their appeal. The document does not reveal why the agencies and attorney generals dropped Judge Carl Nichols’ call to review the ruling, which he made in District Court for the District of Columbia last September.
UnitedHealth completed its tech company merger in October and spent $100 million to integrate Change Healthcare into its OptumInsight revenue cycle management arm. UnitedHealth also sold Change Healthcare’s claims processing division to a private equity firm for $2.2 billion in September, as required by Nichols’ ruling.
The Justice Department and state attorneys general did not immediately respond to requests for interview Tuesday. UnitedHealth and Change Healthcare alone said they had nothing to share because the transaction was completed.
The Justice Department and attorney general have alleged the merger would violate antitrust laws by providing insurer UnitedHealthcare with insight into how rival carriers structure its medical network. Surname. They appealed Nichols’ decision in November without disclosing the reason for their appeal.
The healthcare giant paid out $7.8 billion in cash and saddled Change Healthcare with $5 billion in debt. UnitedHealth expects Change Healthcare to add $800 million in revenue for OptumInsight this year.
