Morning Headlines 6/18/14

Nuance Communications Explores Possible Sale

Nuance executives are reportedly looking to sell the speech recognition company and are actively holding meetings with potential suitors, including Samsung. Activist investor Carl Icahn, who has amassed a 19 percent stake in the company and is now the single largest shareholder, is likely pushing for the sale through his two recently placed board representatives.

Digital woes hamper Alexian Brothers’ shift to new Medicaid program

Alexian Brothers cancels its plans to form an ACO, saying that connecting the various ambulatory EHRs within its market would be too difficult to manage.

Medtronic buys Covidien for $42.9 billion

Medical device maker Medtronic buys rival Covidien for $42.9 billion, a 29 percent premium over the company’s closing stock price Friday. The deal will allow Medtronic to move its headquarters to Ireland, where it will enjoy a 12.5 percent corporate tax rate, far lower than the 35 percent federal tax rate in the US.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, 2014 Update: How the U.S. Health Care System Compares Internationally

A Commonwealth Fund study finds that the US has the most expensive health system in the world, but underperforms compared to other countries on most quality, access, efficiency, and equity measures.