On the heels of last week’s cyber attack against UnitedHealth Group’s Optum unit, the Department of Justice has initiated an antitrust probe into the company. Investigators are reportedly quietly conducting interviews in segments with UnitedHealth competes, with questions about the relationship between Optum and UnitedHealth Group.
The company has previously claimed that sharing information on competitors would hurt the company because Optum sells its services to other payers.
Additionally, DOJ investigators are also looking into the how UnitedHealth’s provider acquisitions have affected other in the industry. The Optum Health branch employs more than 90,000 physicians.
Following the news of the investigation, UnitedHealth Group’s stock dropped around 3% on Tuesday afternoon.