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Hospitals and health systems are adding tens of thousands of roles, but the positions are often clinical — and hiring is showing signs of slowing down. Halfway through the year, healthcare leaders are preparing for hurdles ahead by right-sizing their teams. As they focus on patient-facing employees, they’re shaving their back-office headcount: Thousands of roles have been cut and positions eliminated so far in 2026, often affecting administrative or support workers. (DeSilva, 7/8)

The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has been hit with the first lawsuit challenging its decision to cut off drug discounts for some safety-net providers. Tampa General Hospital in Florida filed suit against the drugmaker in U.S. District Court for the U.S. District of Florida last Thursday, alleging that Eli Lilly is violating Florida and federal law by conditioning discounts from the 340B Drug Pricing Program on providers sharing claims data with the company. (Early, 7/8)

A former executive at Alignment Healthcare alleges the insurance company manipulated its finances to boost its stock price and executive compensation, according to a whistleblower lawsuit filed Tuesday. Hakan Kardes, former chief data and transformation officer, alleges the Medicare Advantage insurer forced him to resign after he reported alleged accounting fraud to other Alignment executives. The company allegedly misclassified operating expenses as capital costs, inflating its 2024 and 2025 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, according to the lawsuit. (Kacik, 7/8)

Epic Systems has identified the executives who will absorb Sumit Rana’s duties when he steps away from his position as president. In a Tuesday email to Epic employees, CEO Judy Faulkner said a group including four research and development leaders — Garrett Adams, Seth Howard, Mark Lipsky and Erv Walter — will add responsibilities following Rana’s departure in August. “We also have an outstanding group of seasoned people throughout Epic whose leadership is critical to the company’s success,” Faulkner said. (Famakinwa, 7/8)

Regulatory hurdles and the lack of insurer reimbursements are preventing doctors from harnessing data from consumer wearables to use in their practices, a new American Medical Association survey finds. (Reed, 7/8)

Matt Wilsey adjusted the plastic tube coming out of his 15-year-old daughter’s stomach and tried, again, not to think beyond the next 15 minutes. His job was to be there with Grace and let his wife, Kristen, rest. He could not think about the future. He could not wonder, again, if he had made the right choice or if his daughter would survive. (Mast and Herper, 7/9)

Pearl Health, a Medicare-focused technology company, has raised $110 million in a Series C funding round.The money comprises a $50 million equity round and a $60 million credit facility. Pearl Health’s artificial intelligence platform is designed to help providers manage their Medicare population and improve value-based care performance by analyzing claims data and identifying high-priority patients. The company says it works with more than 10,000 providers. (Famakinwa, 7/8)

A new study finds that the antiviral drug Paxlovid can safely be used by children aged 6 and older. The study, published recently in Pediatrics, found Paxlovid, which combines the drugs nirmatrelvir and ritonavir, is safe for children who weigh at least 44 pounds who have mild to moderate COVID-19 but are at risk of developing severe disease. Paxlovid is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in children at least 12 years old who weigh at least 88 pounds. (Szabo, 7/8)

In a blow to its cardiovascular aspirations, AstraZeneca said Thursday that its drug for a heart disease — one that has become an increasingly competitive target for biopharma companies — failed in a pivotal trial. (Joseph, 7/9)

An Escherichia coli–produced human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects women from cancer-causing strains of HPV, according to a recent study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. E coli–produced HPV vaccines cost less than commonly used HPV vaccines and could help boost immunization rates in low- to middle-income countries. “Given its low production cost, this vaccine has the potential to improve global access to high valency HPV vaccination,” wrote the authors, led by researchers at Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Preventative Medicine in China. (Holohan, 7/8)