The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), together with Attorneys General in Minnesota and New York, has filed a civil lawsuit to stop UnitedHealth Group from acquiring Change Healthcare.
The complaint states that the proposed $13 billion transaction would harm competition in commercial health insurance markets. It also alleges that the transaction will be harmful in the market for "a vital technology" used by health insurers to process health insurance claims and reduce healthcare costs.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, also states that if this transaction were to be successful, UnitedHealth would have access to competitively sensitive information from rival health insurers. This in turn would allow the company to potentially gain an unfair advantage over them in health insurance markets.
UnitedHealth and Change initially announced the deal in January 2021. If completed, Change would be integrated into UnitedHealth's OptumInsight business.
