Regulators nix massive health insurance portfolio deal

Brazil’s National Agency of Supplementary Health (ANS) decided today to block a deal that would transfer 340,000-plus individual healthcare plans from Amil — the country’s fourth-largest HMO — to APS, owned by the same parent company, the U.S.-based UnitedHealth Group. 

This portfolio would then be sold to a group of investors, but regulators were concerned the deal could be detrimental to patients. Friday’s decision confirms an injunction from earlier this month that ordered Amil to take back control of the portfolio as a precautionary measure.

Amil and APS were given five days to confirm the contract’s cancelation. The companies have not returned a request for comment.

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