Walmart Novogratz Baxter storage console
Companies have been trying to address some of the market's inefficiencies by forging alliances or getting bigger: Cigna Corp.is acquiring Express Scripts Holding Co. for $54 billion, and CVS Health Corp.is buying Aetna Inc. for $68 billion. In March, health insurer Cigna Corp. agreed to buy Express Scripts Holding Co., the biggest administrator of prescription-drug benefits in the USA, for $54 billion.
The Wall Street Journal report cautioned that there was no guarantee that the deal would materialize.
In other payer news, Aetna announced this week that it would pass on drug manufacturers' rebates directly to consumers, replicating a move that USA insurer UnitedHealth Group-which owns pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) OptumRx-announced earlier this month.
It's not certain the discussions will result in a deal, with the companies reportedly considering a range of options.
The move would give Walmart a new role in health care and provide it with new data.
Walmart has a vast pharmacy business, with locations in most of its roughly 4,700 US stores and in many of it Sam's Club warehouse locations.
Russian Federation tests new intercontinental ballistic missile
President Donald Trump said after a call with Putin last week that the two had discussed efforts to limit an arms race. It also accelerates faster, which could help it elude missile defense systems.
Police search for older man missing from ferry to Vancouver from Victoria
Delta police and other agencies are searching for an 80-year-old man believed missing after boarding a BC Ferry Thursday night. When the ferry docked and unloaded, staff found a vehicle with no driver in it on the auto deck.
Cut Dele Alli some slack, says Mauricio Pochettino
Maybe next weekend [he will return]. "The most important muscle that he has is his brain". Of course, we did a lot for him.
Walmart has already made some expansions into care delivery with its existing primary care clinics and has announced plans to bring lab testing services into some stores. Worth remembering: Among many other things, Walmart has one of the nation's largest chains of pharmacies.
One other possible factor: Walmart employs 1.5 million people, and offers health coverage to those working more than 30 hours per week. Walmart plans to buy health care for its workers directly from providers in six different regions.
Amazon has also rolled out a line of private label over-the-counter medicines and is building a business selling medical supplies to doctors, dentists and hospitals. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. equities research experts expect that Walmart Inc will post 4.92 EPS for the current fiscal year. Humana has about 17% of the Medicare Advantage market, according to a tally by analysts at Wells Fargo, with about 3.5 million participants.
The story says that's according to "people familiar with the matter". JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Walmart in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. The successful acquisition of Humana will be a huge deal for Walmart since 1999, when the retail giant acquired UK's Asda Group PLC.
In what seems like a really long time ago, Aetna once aspired to acquire Humana until that deal was scuppered previous year on antitrust grounds by U.S. District Court Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C. He ruled that the deal would "substantially" reduce competition in the Medicare Advantage market. The move would follow the recent trend of retailers and health companies moving closer together.
-Anna Wilde Mathews contributed to this article.
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