UnitedHealth’s bid for DaVita Medical gets conditional FTC approval

Within forty days of closure of the acquisition, UnitedHealth Group would divest DaVita Medical Group’s healthcare provider in Las Vegas

UnitedHealth Group has reportedly been granted approval by the Federal Trade Commission for its $4.3 billion acquisition of DaVita Medical Group from DaVita Inc., following a lengthy regulatory procedure due to certain concerns regarding a monopoly in Las Vegas.

Apparently, the deal has had closer inspection from regulators than predicted. FTC's approval, announced on the afternoon of June 19, 2019, came with conditions including divestitures of a Las Vegas health plan network under a consent order with the government and a proposed antitrust settlement.

The FTC has stated that within forty days of closure of the acquisition, UnitedHealth Group would divest DaVita Medical Group’s healthcare provider agency in Las Vegas, called HealthCare Partners of Nevada, to Utah-based healthcare provider Intermountain HealthCare. The FTC seemed worried about a monopoly in Las Vegas, stating that UnitedHealth's Optum providers and operations under the ownership of DaVita would have ruled majority of the market.

According to reports, UnitedHealth’s Optum confirmed the acquisition and announced that DaVita’s high-quality practices in Washington, Florida, California, Colorado and New Mexico are now under OptumCare.

Andrew Witty, CEO, Optum, was reportedly quoted saying that it was an important step in building a next-gen healthcare organization and improving patient healthcare experiences while lowering costs across the entire range of healthcare services, including primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care.

For the uninitiated, DaVita Medical Group is a subsidiary of DaVita Inc., which is an major provider of dialysis and kidney care services. UnitedHealth will not be possessing DaVita’s kidney care centers. The range of DaVita operations sold to Optum include centers for surgery and urgent care, along with medical clinics governed by both primary care doctors and specialists.  

UnitedHealth Group is a Minnesota-based managed health care brand that offers health care products and insurance services. The brand Optum was established in 2011 in order to affiliate the company's healthcare services business.

 

Source credit: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2019/06/19/unitedhealth-group-wins-ftc-approval-of-davita-deal/#49797f846e40