The United HealthCare Group Inc. logo on a laptop computer arranged in Hastings on Hudson, New York, on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Thursday in a bid to stop health insurer UnitedHealth Group from buying Change Healthcare.
The $7.84 billion all-cash deal was announced in January 2021 as a way for UnitedHealth to expand its fast-growing healthcare technology business.
The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia naming UnitedHealth and Change as defendants.
The planned lawsuit was first announced by the New York Times.
UnitedHealth said it would fight the lawsuit.
"The Department's deeply flawed position is based on highly speculative theories that do not reflect the realities of the healthcare system. We will defend our case vigorously," it said in a statement.