The U.S. Department of Justice, as well as the states of Minnesota and New York, early this week dropped plans to appeal a judge's ruling that allowed UnitedHealth Group to close its acquisition of Change Healthcare. All parties agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case and assume any costs incurred by the appeal.

UnitedHealth proposed to buy Change Healthcare in 2021 to incorporate its data-processing capabilities for insurance claims and integrate the business into its Optum arm. A federal district court judge approved the deal in September, and the two companies formally combined the following month. Change Healthcare is now a part of UHG's Optum subsidiary.

During bench trials to block the merger, the Justice Department had argued that UnitedHealth's acquisition of Change would disadvantage rivals and result in higher costs and lower quality of commercial health insurance.

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