The U.S. Department of Justice proposed a settlement Thursday requiring Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group to divest 164 home health and hospice facilities — the biggest divestiture of outpatient health services to clear the way for a merger.

The proposal, if approved, would end the legal battle that followed the DOJ's lawsuit to stymie Amedisys and UnitedHealth's attempted merger in November, fearing it would limit access to health services. The department also proposed that Amedisys pay $1.1 million to the United States for false certification that they provided accurate documents to the United States.

“In no sector of our economy is competition more important to Americans’ well-being than healthcare. This settlement protects quality and price competition for hundreds of thousands

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