UnitedHealth closes roughly $8B deal for Change Healthcare

MINNETONKA, Minn. (AP) — UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it completed its acquisition of Change Healthcare, closing the roughly $8 billion deal a couple weeks after a judge rejected a challenge from federal regulators.

UnitedHealth is merging the technology company with its Optum segment. The health care giant said that combination will simplify clinical, administrative and payment processes for care providers and bill payers.

Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group’s rapidly growing Optum business process pharmacy claims, delivers care and provides technology support. UnitedHealth Group Inc. also runs the one of the nation’s largest health insurers.

The U.S. Department of Justice had sued in February to block the deal. Regulators argued at the time that the deal would put too much information about health care claims in the hands of one company.

But U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols issued an order last month denying the government’s request to scrap the deal.

Nichols noted in a 58-page memorandum that UnitedHealth’s incentives to protect customer data as it grows its businesses outweigh motivations to misuse the information. The judge also noted that UnitedHealth has agreed to sell part of Change Healthcare’s business to a private-equity firm that will then invest in it, and that will likely preserve competition.

UnitedHealth announced the deal in early 2021.

The Associated Press