New York Attorney General Secures Measures to Prevent Healthcare Monopoly

Strategic Insights -

New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of attorneys general in securing new measures to prevent UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys from dominating home health and hospice care markets, jeopardizing services for vulnerable patients. A lawsuit filed in November 2024 challenged United's acquisition of Amedisys, which could have eliminated competition among providers, threatening the quality of critical healthcare services for millions of seniors. As a result of the lawsuit, United and Amedisys must sell home health and hospice care facilities to other providers in affected states before merging, preserving competition that helps vulnerable patients access high-quality, low-cost services.

Key Takeaways:

  • UnitedHealth Group and Amedisys must divest from home health and hospice care providers in the same regions to preserve competition before merging.
  • The companies must sell home health and hospice care facilities in affected states, including three locations in New York to BrightSpring Health Services.
  • A monitor selected by the DOJ and the states will oversee the divestments to ensure compliance with the settlement terms.
  • This is part of a broader effort by Attorney General James to protect New Yorkers from unfair anticompetitive tactics.
  • Previous actions include securing settlements in April 2025 and March 2025, stopping anticompetitive no-poach agreements in the building services industry.
  • The attorneys general coalition led by Attorney General James also won a major court victory against Google in August 2024, finding the company had maintained an illegal monopoly of online search engines.

Statistics:

  • $2.5 million: the amount secured from New York City bus tour companies that illegally colluded to limit competition in April 2025.
  • 3 locations: the number of Willcare home health locations in New York that United will sell to BrightSpring Health Services.
  • 5: the number of states – New York, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey – participating in the settlement.
  • 2024: the year in which United's acquisition of Amedisys was challenged by the attorneys general coalition.
  • $ million: the amount secured from Google as a result of the attorneys general coalition's victory in August 2024.

Sources:

  • Office of the New York Attorney General
  • UnitedHealth Group
  • Amedisys
  • Illinois Attorney General's Office
  • Maryland Attorney General's Office
  • New Jersey Attorney General's Office