UnitedHealth Group has purchased DaVita Medical Group after they reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission saying this deal was a long time coming. This was due to the concern about harm to medical competition in Nevada. The original deal in place would have resulted in a monopoly controlling more than 80% of the medical market.nnUnitedHealth Group announced Wednesday it has closed on its $4.3 billion purchase of DaVita Medical Group after the parties reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that resolves the federal government’s concerns about harm to competition in Nevada.nnUnder the FTC settlement, UnitedHealth Group has agreed to sell DaVita Medical Group’s Las Vegas operations, known as HealthCare Partners of Nevada, to Salt Lake City, Utah-based Intermountain Healthcare within 40 days of the deal’s closing. Without that tweak, the FTC said the deal would reduce competition in the Las Vegas area for managed care provider organization (MCPO) services sold to Medicare Advantage insurers and Medicare Advantage plans sold to individual Medicare Advantage members.nnThe original FTC complaint against the proposed deal said it would result in a near monopoly controlling more than 80% of the market for services delivered by MCPOs to Medicare Advantage insurers.”The complaint alleges that elimination of this competition would increase healthcare costs and decrease competition on quality, services and other amenities in the affected area,” the FTC wrote.nnColorado Attorney General Phil Weiser separately announced his office had reached an agreement with UnitedHealth Group and DaVita that resolves its concerns about anticompetitive effects in the Colorado Springs area for people covered under Medicare Advantage plans.nnDaVita Medical Group owns two physician groups in Colorado Springs, and UnitedHealthcare, a sister company to Optum, is the largest Medicare Advantage operator in the region. Weiser filed a complaint independent of the FTC to challenge the Optum-DaVita deal.nnUnder that deal, UnitedHealthcare will lift its exclusive contract with Centura Health for at least 3.5 years, which will expand the network of providers available to seniors covered under Medicare Advantage, Weiser’s office said in a news release. Additionally, DaVita Medical Group’s agreement with Humana, UnitedHealth Group’s competitor in Colorado Springs, will be extended without change at least through the end of 2020.nn”As the people’s lawyer, I am committed to protecting all Coloradans from anticompetitive consolidation and practices, and will do so whether or not the federal government acts to protect Coloradans,” Weiser said in a statement.nnUnitedHealth Group will combine DaVita Medical Group with its Optum subsidiary, which provides primary and secondary care, consulting and data analytics. Optum spokeswoman Lauren Mijajlov wrote in an email that the company is pleased to have reached an agreement with Weiser’s office, and to have closed the deal. DaVita spokeswoman Courtney Culpepper said the same in an email.nnComplete and original article posted on modernhealthcare.com
