02:32 PM EST, 11/12/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with the companies' responses.)

The US Department of Justice, and the attorneys general of Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block UnitedHealth Group's ( UNH ) proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys ( AMED ) , the DOJ said Tuesday.

The suit was filed in the US District Court for the District of Maryland and alleges that the deal would eliminate competition between the two companies.

"Eliminating the competition between UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and Amedisys ( AMED ) would harm patients who receive home health and hospice services, insurers who contract for home health services, and nurses who provide home health and hospice services," the DOJ said.

"We remain committed to the transaction, which we believe will create more opportunities to deliver quality, compassionate and value-based care to patients and their families," a spokesperson for Amedisys ( AMED ) told MT Newswires. "We look forward to supporting Optum in presenting our case."

Optum is a unit of UnitedHealth ( UNH ) that provides analytics, research and pharmacy care services.

"We will vigorously defend against the DOJ's overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws," Optum said in reply to a request for comment.

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