Executives from UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED) reportedly will meet with U.S. Justice Department officials in an effort to seal their pending deal.

Amedisys has indicated that it expects the deal to close in Q4. However, the Justice Department (DOJ) has been making inquiries into the transaction and reportedly has been considering a lawsuit to block it, due to potential antitrust concerns. To date, neither Amedisys nor UnitedHealth Group have been accused of any wrongdoing.

Bloomberg first reported on the DOJ meeting, which might begin on Monday, according to sources “familiar with the matter.” The meeting will include Jonathan Kanter, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, Bloomberg reported.

The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum in June 2023 agreed to acquire Amedisys in a $3.3 billion deal. Optum in February 2023 also acquired the home health and hospice provider LHC Group for $5.4 billion.

DOJ’s attention on the transaction reflects a larger federal focus on antitrust actions. President Joe Biden signed an executive order that created a White House Competition Council shortly after taking office. The order was designed to address antitrust concerns in a range of industries, including health care. 

New rules and proposals include changes to pre-acquisition filing procedures required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as well as revised federal guidelines for regulatory approvals.

Health care is among the industries that will likely be affected by the enhanced scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions, according to Michael Dashefsky, member at Bass, Berry & Sims and co-chair of the law firm’s Antitrust and Trade Practices Group.

“I’ve been practicing antitrust law for my entire career since 1996, and this is probably the most significant antitrust enforcement that we’ve seen in that period of time,” Dashefsky told Hospice News in December 2023. “There’s been a heavy focus on that in certain areas that has been outlined in various statements by the administration in terms of a focus within health care and other areas as well.”

In order to mitigate antitrust concerns, Amedisys has agreed to sell some of its locations to the PE-backed home health and hospice provider VitalCaring, possibly more than 100. The VitalCaring transaction is contingent on approval of the UnitedHealth Group acquisition.

The DOJ meeting could result in further changes to the Amedisys transaction, including the divestiture of more locations. A DOJ lawsuit could also occur, a decision which the department must make before the end of October. The possibility also exists that the meeting will not lead to any resolution of the questions surrounding the deal.

State agencies have also voiced concerns over the acquisition, including the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA).

“We are concerned that [UnitedHealth] as an insurer, and through Optum as a clinical provider and potentially as a home health and hospice provider, have the incentive and the ability to unfairly disadvantage competing providers and drive them from the market, reducing consumer choice,” OHA indicated in a statement.