Economy: PE-owned Walgreens cuts 628 jobs | Data-based physician staffing | FTC M&A rule overturned | TrumpRx launches

Sycamore Partners took over the struggling retail pharmacy chain roughly six months ago, and the Private Equity Stakeholder Project fears early staffing cuts and store closures could spell trouble for the long-term health of the newly restructured business.

A data-crunching method for staffing a key clinical department has reduced physician overtime by 13 hours a day and downtime by 14 hours at a large urban health system. The researchers who tallied the results estimate daily savings at $8,400 a day. 

A U.S. District Court in Texas ruled that the agency overstepped its regulatory authority in passing the 2024 Biden-era reporting requirement, which would require stakeholders to spend more than 100 hours filling out a long form to give the agency more oversight of transactions. 

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs unconstitutional. The administration responded by imposing a 10% rate across the board, later hiked to 15%. That will remain in effect for 150 days and require an act of Congress to extend.

Alzheimer’s disease already has the nation in a crisis of care capacity. The pressure to do more in response is mounting. Meanwhile the true total cost is hard to estimate since so many dementia caregivers are unpaid family members and other volunteers. 

The January employment situation summary, released Feb. 11 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, shows an American economy leaning heavily on healthcare to put jobseekers to work. 

Solace Health, a company that connects patients with an "advocate" to help them navigate the U.S. healthcare system after a diagnosis, announced on Tuesday that it's earned $130 million in Series C funding, bringing its valuation to the coveted “unicorn status."

In a new poll, more insured adults listed receiving coverage approval for treatment and medications as the single largest burden they face when navigating the U.S. healthcare system than any other issue. KFF found that 47% experienced “denied, delayed or altered” patient care over the last two years. 

E-mails sent to the full workforce at hospitals and health systems are costly due to the time they take away from recipients’ other essential duties and tasks. How costly? Researchers have done the math.

Discounts represent out-of-pocket costs and come in the form of direct-to-consumer sales through manufacturer websites or via a coupon. AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer have all listed some of their most popular drugs on the TrumpRx.gov portal.