Amedisys Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED) saw hospice revenue and census growth as it awaits the final determination of its pending acquisition by the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum.

The company’s hospice segment earned $204 million during Q2 2024, up from $199.2 million year over year. Amedisys also saw a 0.4% increase in same-store average daily census (ADC). Hospice ADC reached 12,968 patients during Q2, up from 12,916 in the prior year’s period.

Hospice admissions, however, declined to 12,124 in the second quarter of the year, down from 12,395 in Q2 2023. Gross margin for the hospice segment also fell slightly to 49% from 50.6% year-over-year.

“Cost per day up $4.47 (+5.3%) primarily due to raises, wage inflation, an increase in RN hires and higher health insurance costs partially offset by lower contractor utilization,” Amedisys indicated in slides accompanying its earnings release. “EBITDA margin down 140 basis points due to higher labor costs partially offset by the 2024 rate increase (effective 10/1/2023) and clinical optimization and reorganization initiatives.”

On a consolidated basis, Amedisys’ net service revenue rose to $591 million in the second quarter from $553 million in Q2 2023.

The Optum deal is expected to close before the end of the year, pending some regulatory hurdles. Optum last June penned its agreement to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion.

The transaction has taken a circuitous route through the regulatory approval process, with agencies like the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) scrutinizing the details due to antitrust concerns.

The recent divestment of some of the company’s home health locations by likely will give the deal a smoother course.

Amedisys recently announced the sale of the locations to the home health and hospice provider VitalCaring for an undisclosed amount, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). VitalCaring also acquired some Unitedhealth Group care centers in the deal. Rumors of a potential divestiture began circulating in May.

However, the deal is contingent upon the closure of Optum’s Amedisys transaction, the SEC filing indicated.

“Consummation of the divestiture is contingent on a number of conditions, including the consummation of the previously announced merger transaction contemplated under the agreement and plan of merger, dated June 26, 2023 by and among UnitedHealth Group, Aurora Holdings Merger Sub Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys,” the SEC filing indicated.