By Carl O'Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis
March 29 (Reuters) -
Should the talks lead to a tieup, it would be the latestdeal to bring together a retail chain and a health insurer,following CVS Health Corp's
Walmart approached Humana earlier this month and thedeliberations are preliminary, one of the sources said. Whilethe conversations have focused on new partnerships, anacquisition of Humana by Walmart is also something beingdiscussed, the source added.
The sources asked not to be identified because thedeliberations are confidential. Humana and Walmart did notimmediately respond to requests for comment.
Walmart currently has a co-branded Medicare drug plan withHumana that steers patients to Walmart stores. The partnershipoffers a prescription drug plan that can save up to 20 percentin drug costs for customers.
Closer ties between the two companies could allow Walmart totap into Humana's patient population, expanding the low-levelmedical services in its pharmacies to avoid ER visits, and tobetter manage prescription drug use though access to medicalrecords.
Humana's biggest business is managing Medicare Advantagehealth plans, a heavily regulated business that Walmart wouldalso have to take on in an acquisition.(Reporting by Carl O'Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis in New YorkAdditional reporting by Nandita Bose and Michele Gershberg inNew YorkEditing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)