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Early-stage deal talks between Walmart Inc. and Humana Inc. are deepening anxiety in the hospital sector, which already has been grappling with sluggish growth and competition from cheaper health-care options. Hospitals have been eyeing Walmart nervously for years as it advances into health care, seeking to leverage its enormous purchasing heft, physical reach and focus on price. The Bentonville, Ark., retailer already operates pharmacies and primary-care clinics and plans to begin offering lab-testing services. It has also recently increased its direct negotiations with hospitals for competitive prices on some procedures for its employees. (Evans, 4/1)

The emergence of talks between Walmart Inc. and Humana Inc. creates pressure on the health-care companies that haven’t yet made deals, amid the rapid-fire integration that is reshaping the business of managing health care. A Walmart-Humana deal—which is far from assured, as the companies are in early-stage talks about a variety of possible options—would become the latest sign of the sector’s rapid move toward combinations that unite different businesses under one roof. (Wilde Mathews and Terlep, 3/30)

Walmart Inc.’s potential acquisition of a health insurer would push it far beyond its big-box roots, enabling it to diversify away from the competitive pressures of retailing yet also thrusting it into a complicated and rapidly evolving health-care sector. Walmart is holding preliminary discussions to buy U.S. health insurer Humana Inc. and the companies are discussing various options, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. There is no guarantee the companies will agree on a merger or pursue some other partnership. (Nassauer and Wilde Mathews, 3/30)