Amedisys Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AMED) hospice segment has seen headwinds impact admissions growth as the company awaits its pending acquisition by the UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum.

The company’s hospice segment revenue reached $207.9 million in Q3, a rise from $200.2 million during the same period last year.

Gross margin for the hospice segment fell slightly to 42.9% from 44.3% year-over-year. Hospice results were in part impacted by a -4% decrease in patient admissions and a 0.5% rise in average daily census volumes. Other factors included rising hospice care delivery costs such as investments in clinical staffing and higher compensation and benefit costs, among others, the company reported.

“Rate increases and home health volume growth were offset by raises, wage inflation, a shift in home health mix, investments in hospice clinical staffing and higher compensation and benefit costs,” Amedisys indicated in slides accompanying its earnings release. “Cost per day up $2.31 (+2.7%) primarily due to raises, wage inflation, an increase in RN hires and higher health insurance costs partially offset by lower contractor utilization.”

Baton Rouge, Louisiana-headquartered Amedisys provides home health, hospice and personal and high acuity care services, including palliative care. Founded in 1982, the company has roughly 19,000 employees and a geographic footprint that spans 37 states and the District of Columbia. Amedisys serves more than 469,000 patients annually.

Amedisys “saw weakness” in its hospice growth, though the segment continues to build revenue, according to a report from Jeffries shared with Hospice News.

“In the hospice segment, [same-store (SS)] admissions were -4% suggesting [the] sector is still not quite recovered, but strong rate growth provided a meaningful offset and drove +3.3% SS [revenue] growth,” the Jeffries report indicated.

The company brought in roughly $587.7 million in net service revenue during the third quarter, seeing a $31.5 million year-over-year increase.

Amedisys’ year-to-date adjusted EBITDA reached $191.1 million in Q3, a small increase from $190.4 million during the same period in 2023.

Given the Medicare rate increases for FY25 in home health and hospice, the company is expected to see forward momentum alongside EBITDA expansion, partly related to its pending Optum deal, according to the Jeffries analysts.

“Near-term, the stock movement still hinges on the completion of the company’s pending sale to UNH, which we continue to believe will be finalized in the next couple of months,” the report stated.

The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum agreed to acquire Amedisys last June in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion. The transaction has journeyed through the regulatory approval processes, with agencies like the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) scrutinizing the details due to antitrust concerns. Most recently, the DOJ postponed meeting with Amedisys to discuss any decisions until after the presidential election.

The company gave no indication in its earnings report as to when the Optum deal is anticipated to close, though previous reports indicated Q4 of this year.