We mapped out the key changes among Walmart’s healthcare leadership

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and today in healthcare news:

• We mapped out some of the key healthcare leadership changes at Walmart;
• Experts shared what Moderna's up against as it aims to develop an HIV vaccine;
• Primary-care upstarts are protesting the decision to halt direct contracting applications.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Comments, tips? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

Walmart's healthcare leaders are exiting the company as it taps the brakes on an ambitious clinic rollout

• A number of Walmart's healthcare leaders have left the company in recent months.
• Walmart slowed its push into primary care after a recent change in CEOs.
• Now with 9 key healthcare leaders gone, the clinics are no longer in the spotlight.

Get the full breakdown here>>

Moderna's mRNA technology could help in the decades-long search for an HIV vaccine

• Moderna's mRNA tech could change the game in the decades-long effort to develop an HIV vaccine.
• The company said it expects to begin two vaccine trials in humans by the end of 2021.
• While "excited" by the prospect, HIV researchers caution there's a long road ahead for mRNA vaccines.

Here's what's in store>>

Primary-care upstarts ChenMed, Iora, and VillageMD are protesting a US decision to halt applications for a potentially lucrative Medicare program

• A new federal program that aims to lower costs for Medicare kicked off on April 1.
• The US will no longer take applications from companies that want to take part starting in 2022.
• Clinics and doctor groups are urging the feds to reconsider.

They're calling the decision a "serious blow">>

More stories we're reading:

• Diabetes care startup Virta Health raises $133 million in a round led by Tiger Global, valuing it at $2 billion (Forbes)
• A record 5.2 million people globally tested positive for COVID-19 last week, despite the vaccine rollout ramping up in wealthy nations (Insider)
• It might be time to reevaluate why we wear masks outside (The Atlantic)
• Half of US adults have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the CDC says (Insider)
• NASA's Mars helicopter took flight for the first time, opening the door for a new generation of space drones (Insider)

- Lydia