Dive Brief:

UnitedHealth has closed its $3.3 billion acquisition of home health and hospice provider Amedisys, the companies disclosed Thursday, capping off a two-year battle with antitrust regulators.

The deal, which will fold Amedisys into UnitedHealth’s health services division Optum, marks a significant expansion of UnitedHealth’s home health capabilities — one so large that the Department of Justice sued to block the deal late last year, arguing it would decimate competition for the services in hundreds of U.S. markets.

But UnitedHealth, Amedisys and the DOJ reached a settlement roughly one week ago, clearing the way for the deal to be finalized. Amedisys stopped trading on Nasdaq on Thursday, citing the deal’s closure.

Dive Insight:

Amedisys agreed to be acquired by UnitedH

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