To find new therapies for a number of diseases, AbbVie is participating in four collaborations and investments with healthcare innovators to develop early-stage research in key therapeutic areas like oncology and immunology. 

Wakefield, Massachusetts-based Optum, owned by UnitedHealth, has agreed to a $2.3 billion cash and stock deal to buy Surgical Care Affiliates (SCA) and its 190 surgical hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers.

A Forbes article by Reenita Das takes a look at healthcare technology. Whether its connecting patients to physicians near or far, reconstructing the foundation of healthcare or the introduction of robots, Das believes this year see the pros outweighing the cons.

Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center will try to combat $50 million in recent operating losses by cutting payroll by 1,000 people, including up to 900 layoffs.

While many drugs, such as buprenorphine, are effective in treating opioid addiction, little is understood about what contributes to patients failing to continue treatment in the long term. In a study published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, researchers evaluated characteristics of patients who stuck with a buprenorphine treatment program beyond the one-year point.

With more than 40,000 reported Zika virus infection cases in the U.S., researchers and physicians are working harder than ever to find treatments for the dangerous virus.

The healthcare industry would suffer the greatest job losses due to the loss of federal funds if parts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are repealed, according to an analysis from the Commonwealth Fund. 

The hospital provider fee—also known as the “bed tax”—is used in 49 states to help pay the state’s share of Medicaid funding. Anti-tax groups, however, are targeting Georgia’s 1.45 percent tax on hospital profits, which some see as a beginning of a national campaign to roll back that charge.