UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHN) still expects to close its purchase of Amedisys (Nasdaq: AMED) despite ongoing legal challenges. 

This is according to a document that the insurance and health care services giant prepared in advance of its annual shareholder meeting. The document was inadvertently leaked to the news site STAT on Wednesday. It contained talking points that the UnitedHealth Group executives apparently planned to use to defuse concerns among shareholders around financial and legal hurdles the company is facing.

Following the STAT report, UnitedHealth Group publicly released a version of the 18-page document.

“We remain optimistic that we will complete our proposed merger with Amedisys,” the document indicated. “Amedisys’ commitment to quality and care innovation within the home, and the patient-first culture of its people combined with Optum’s deep value-based care expertise, can drive meaningful improvement in the health outcomes and experiences of more patients at lower costs, leading to continued growth for both organizations.”

The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum, in June 2023 inked its agreement to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion. Last summer, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) began investigating potential antitrust concerns related to the deal.

Amedisys and UnitedHealth Group are now embroiled in a lawsuit by the DOJ. The agency seeks to block the pending acquisition due to antitrust concerns. The DOJ’s impetus behind the lawsuit against Optum and Amedisys is multi-faceted, citing potential adverse impacts on competition, home-based care workers and payers.

The documents contained talking points designed to address issues such as multiple government investigations of UnitedHealth Group, scrutiny of its coding practices, the company’s falling stock price and investor concerns over incoming CEO Stephen Hemsley’s reported $60 million compensation package, among others.

Hemsley previously served as the company’s CEO between 2006 and 2017 and has been its chairman ever since. He returned to the CEO post after prior CEO Andrew Witty stepped down in May.