The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking information from UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) and LHC Group Inc. (NASDAQ: LHCG) regarding the ways minimum wage workers in the space bargain for higher wages.
The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum in March announced that it would acquire LHC Group for $5.4 billion, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
“As part of the Optum team and its value-based capabilities, we will be able to expand our patient-centered mission and help drive best care practices across the country,” said Keith G. Myers, LHC Group’s chairman and CEO when the deal was announced. “Working together as organizations committed to caring for the most vulnerable in society will help us more effectively and efficiently deliver high quality and increasingly value-based care in the home.”
The questions on wage bargaining for home health workers is the FTC’s second request for information about the deal, Seeking Alpha reported, citing Dealreporter. The information came from sources “familiar with the matter,” according to the report.
Such requests from the FTC are not unheard of and have occurred in similar transactions, such as Kindred Healthcare’s sale to Apollo Global, Seeking Alpha report indicated. The report made no mention of LHC Group’s other business lines, including hospice.
Federal law requires a waiting period before a deal of this magnitude can be completed, though that time frame may be extended due to the FTC request. The companies expect the deal to close in the third quarter of this year. Both have said they are working with the FTC and will continue to do so.
As of deadline, LHC Group had not responded to requests for comment from Hospice News.
Lafayette, Louisiana-based LHC Group employs nearly 30,000 workers, who deliver home health, hospice and home- and community-based services and facility-based care across 37 states and the District of Columbia.
In 2021, the average hourly rate for registered nurses working for for-profit home health agencies was $34.43, according to the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service. Not-for-profit agency pay, in comparison, was $36.17 per hour.
Home Health Care News Editor Andrew Donlan contributed to this report.
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