Novo Nordisk, a Denmark-based multinational pharmaceutical company, will slash 400 jobs in its research and development unit, Reuters reported.  By Kelly Gooch - 9/19/18

Walmart, which advertises itself as the leader in "everyday low prices," is bringing that mentality to the healthcare market, partnering with insurers and tapping industry executives to grow its efforts, CNN Money reports.  By Alyssa Rege - 9/19/18

The HHS Office of the Chief Technology Officer published a report on the state of data sharing across the department Sept. 17, as part of its ongoing effort to build an enterprisewide data strategy.  By Jessica Kim Cohen - 9/19/18

A bipartisan group of senators has unveiled a proposal that would allow states to use Medicaid funds to cover up to 90 consecutive days of substance abuse treatment for patients with diagnosed substance abuse disorders, according to The Hill.  By Leo Vartorella - 9/19/18

On Aug. 23, staff at Burlington-based University of Vermont Medical Center silently looked on as Elizabeth "Libby" Hanzl D'Avignon was moved from the intensive care unit to the operating room.  By Kelly Gooch - 9/19/18

Members of the HealthCare Executive Group ranked data and analytics as the top critical challenge, issue and opportunity they expect to face in their organizations next year.   By Kelly Gooch - 9/19/18

American Hospital Association CEO Rick Pollack and California Hospital Association CEO Carmela Coyle responded in a joint article to a recent op-ed that criticized emergency rooms as the main drivers of rising healthcare costs.  By Leo Vartorella - 9/19/18

Florence, which made landfall Sept. 14, was a Category 1 hurricane that evolved to a tropical storm and, as of Sept. 18, a post-tropical cyclone. At least 35 people across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have died in storm-related incidents, and 343,000 people were still without power in North Carolina at the time of publication.  By Kelly Gooch, Morgan Haefner, Anuja Vaidya, Emily Rappleye, Leo Vartorella and Molly Gamble - 9/18/18

Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System will lay off 25 employees by Nov. 17, according to The Marshfield News Herald.  By Alia Paavola - 9/18/18

A bipartisan group of senators have unveiled a bill that looks to prevent out-of-network providers from charging patients more for emergency care than the amount they would have paid under their insurance, according to The Hill.  By Leo Vartorella - 9/18/18

X-factor leaders — as they are called — bust complexity, halt "us-them" thinking, pull their weight with teams in two distinct ways and possess a track record of grooming multiple effective leaders.  By Molly Gamble - 9/18/18

The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission, a nonpartisan legislative branch agency, has expressed concern after learning that thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries in Arkansas lost their health insurance under new work requirements, The New York Times reported.  By Kelly Gooch - 9/17/18

The woman who accused U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual harassment has said she is willing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, in a letter to the committee Sept. 18, the woman said she wants the FBI to fully investigate the incident before she attends any congressional hearing or "interrogation" into her accusations, Fox News reports.  By Alyssa Rege - 9/17/18

The healthcare industry is having an important debate about data — how it is generated, who owns it, how it is used and how much control people should have over their personal information. Used responsibly, data can help drive important transformations in prevention, treatment, patient education and more. But as we develop ethical applications for leveraging big data in healthcare, we cannot lose sight of the human element of our work to enhance the patient experience.  By Patricia A. Maryland, Dr.PH, President & CEO, Ascension Healthcare - 9/17/18

Highland Hospital in Charleston, W. Va., a subsidiary of Brentwood, Tenn.-based Meridian Behavioral Health Systems, laid off 31 employees on Sept. 14.  By Kelly Gooch - 9/17/18

Executive positions are often stressful and taxing, and leaders who hold these roles sometimes struggle to go from their high-intensity working life to retirement, according to the Harvard Business Review.  By Leo Vartorella - 9/17/18

In an era where Silicon Valley tech companies are increasingly placing their chief executives front and center to deter negative publicity, the elusive Google co-founder and current CEO of its parent company, Alphabet, has been largely absent from the public arena, Bloomberg reports.  By Alyssa Rege - 9/17/18

Amazon Founder, Chairman and CEO Jeff Bezos said during a discussion in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13 that the best business decisions he has ever made "have been made with heart," according to Axios.  By Alyssa Rege - 9/17/18

While disagreements between a company's board and its executive leadership are common, allegations of sexual misconduct, racial intolerance and bullying have become new weapons in the battle between investors, executives and directors at companies across multiple industries, according to Bloomberg.  By Alyssa Rege - 9/17/18

Health policy researcher H. Gilbert Welch, MD, resigned from Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth College over allegations of plagiarism in a 2016 paper he published in the New England Journal of Medicine, according to a STAT report.  By Emily Rappleye - 9/14/18