The Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit Thursday to block UnitedHealth Group's proposed acquisition of Change Healthcare, a $13 billion deal the federal government says could potentially harm millions of Americans by lowering the quality of health insurance while making coverage more costly.
The lawsuit highlights UnitedHealth Group's ownership of UnitedHealthcare, which is the nation's largest health insurer. Calling the Minnesota-based company a "behemoth," the complaint argues that UnitedHealth would amass too much power in the arcane and competitively-sensitive world of electronic data transactions between carriers and health care providers.
The deal to buy Nashville-based Change Healthcare, first announced in January 2021, would damage competition in the market for key technologies used by insurers to process claims and reduce health care costs, the suit alleges. Attorneys general in Minnesota and New York are joining the Justice Department in the litigation.
