Police outside the corporate headquarters of UnitedHealthcare in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

If you’ve ever tried to follow the twists and turns of a major health care merger, you know it can feel like trying to read your insurance bill upside down. 

But on Wednesday, a federal court in Maryland handed down a ruling that cuts through the noise — and sends a pretty loud message.

The Justice Department confirmed that a judge has approved its settlement with UnitedHealth Group over the company’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys, a major home health and hospice provider. 

And this wasn’t a quiet rubber-stamp deal.

Officials said the agreement forces the companies to unload at least 164 home health and hospice locations across 19 states, totaling about $528 million in annual revenue — the largest divestiture of outpatient health care facilities ever required to resolve a merger challenge.

And that wasn’t the only hit.

Amedisys must also cough up a $1.1 million civil penalty for what the DOJ says was a false certification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. 

In short: the government says the company signed off on paperwork claiming it provided “true, correct, and complete” responses when it hadn’t.

Justice Department leadership did not hold back.

“Under President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, this Department of Justice has moved quickly to resolve transactions, ensuring Americans see the benefits sooner,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said.

Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, who leads the Antitrust Division, called the outcome “tremendous,” adding that “competition itself is critical to the public interest and the well-being of all Americans.”

The final settlement includes several big conditions:

UnitedHealth must divest the 164 facilities — plus eight more if it can’t get regulatory approval tied to the planned divestitures, officials said.

A court-appointed monitor will oversee compliance.

The buyers of the divested facilities must receive everything needed — “assets, personnel, and relationships” — to compete head-to-head with UnitedHealth, according to the Justice Department.

Amedisys must train both corporate and field leadership on antitrust compliance going forward.

The judge tapped William E. Berlin of Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman to keep an eye on the whole process.