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The Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH), the behemoth behind America’s largest health insurer and a major player in drug benefits management and healthcare services, as reported Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal. This marks a significant move by the DOJ to examine the competitive practices of one of the health care sector’s biggest entities.
News of the probe sent UnitedHealth Group’s shares down by 2.27% in Wednesday’s trading session.
Focus Areas: The probe is zeroing in on the dynamics between UnitedHealthcare, the insurance division, and Optum, its health-services unit known for owning a wide array of physician groups and health care assets.
Investigators are engaging with industry stakeholders to understand the potential competitive and consumer impacts of UnitedHealth’s acquisition strategies, particularly concerning its expansion of doctor groups, the Journal report said.
No Comments: Both UnitedHealth Group and the Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation, the Journal said. UnitedHealth executives have previously maintained that operations across Optum and UnitedHealthcare do not unfairly prioritize one another and they engage openly with competitors.
Broader Antitrust Ambitions: This investigation is part of a larger effort by the Biden administration to intensify antitrust scrutiny across major sectors, targeting giants such as Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Live Nation Entertainment Inc. (NYSE:LYV).
Under the leadership of Jonathan Kanter, the DOJ’s principal antitrust official, there’s a renewed commitment to enforcing monopoly-restraining laws, signaling a strategic focus on health care as a critical front in these endeavors.
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