Four hospital groups have joined together to form a new non-profit organization that will manufacture and distribute drugs to hospitals, ideally for much cheaper than for-profit pharmaceutical companies.

A new conscience and religious-freedom division within the Health and Human Services Department is being launched to aid doctors, nurses and other medical professionals in refusing to provide services that violate their moral or religious beliefs.

Fears of a world economic slump have receded among chief executive officers, who are instead preoccupied with hiring and retaining top employees, an annual survey found.

A pioneer in efforts to sell health insurance through the web, eHealth Inc., gave its assessment Tuesday in a preview of the company's earnings for the fourth quarter of 2017.