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Walgreens is painting a much broader picture of the scale of VillageMD's footprint reduction, six months after announcing clinic closures. Walgreens-backed VillageMD has closed 140 clinics this year across several states and is planning to close another 20, Walgreens Boots Alliance CEO Tim Wentworth told analysts on Thursday's second-quarter earnings call. The closings represent roughly 50% of the original footprint. (Hudson, 3/28)

Walgreens lost nearly $6 billion in its second quarter mainly due to a drop in value for the VillageMD clinic business it controls. Excluding that charge, the drugstore chain reported results Thursday that topped Wall Street expectations. Walgreens spent more than $5 billion a few years ago to acquire a majority stake in VillageMD and launch a plan to add hundreds of clinics to its stores and grow its ability to provide care. (Murphy, 3/28)

UnitedHealth Group has named John Rex as its next president, succeeding Dirk McMahon, who is retiring. Rex will retain his role as chief financial officer and will take on the additional role of president April 1, according to a Thursday Securities and Exchange Commission filing. (Berryman, 3/28)

UnitedHealth Group’s Optum is poised to solidify its position as the largest physician employer, but its proposal to acquire Steward Health Care’s physician group will likely meet stiff regulatory scrutiny. Optum Care, a subsidiary of Optum, plans to buy Stewardship Health, the physician arm of the ailing for-profit Steward health system, according to regulatory filings with the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. (Kacik, 3/28)

The first major U.S. health insurers have agreed to start paying for the popular anti-obesity drug Wegovy for certain people on Medicare with heart-related conditions. CVS Health CVS 0.42% Elevance Health ELV -0.27% and Kaiser Permanente said they would cover Novo Nordisk’s NOVO.B -0.79% Wegovy for the use of reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes in people who have cardiovascular disease, meet body-weight criteria and are covered by a Medicare drug-benefit plan. (Loftus and Wilde Mathews, 3/28)

The financial ties between drug and device makers and some physicians remains pervasive, despite concerns such relationships may influence medical practice, according to a new analysis of payments made over a recent 10-year span. (Silverman, 3/28)

The United Kingdom has released comprehensive data showing which institutions have failed to register their clinical trials, a move that was hailed by transparency advocates who say this marks the first time that a country has taken such a step. (Silverman, 3/28)