Latest California Healthline Stories
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of June 29, 2012
St. Joseph Health System and its hospitals in Orange County are consolidating certain functions and planning to cut 76 jobs. Stater Bros. Charities and Inland Women Fighting Cancer have donated $50,000 to support St. Bernardine Medical Center’s Center for Imaging.
Democrats Praise Health Reform Ruling, GOP Vows To Repeal Law
President Obama and Democratic lawmakers welcomed the Supreme Court’s ruling to largely uphold the federal health reform law. Meanwhile, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and other Republicans vowed to continue their efforts to repeal the law. The Hill et al.
CDC Pilot Program Aims To Improve Access to HIV Testing
On Tuesday, CDC announced a two-year pilot project under which several U.S. pharmacy chains will offer no-cost, rapid HIV tests in a limited number of locations as part of an effort to make the tests more convenient and accessible. Pharmacists will be instructed to refer customers who test positive to a local health care provider for a blood test to confirm the results, as well as for treatment and counseling. Reuters, AP/USA Today.
Report: Drug Companies’ R&D Initiatives Increased in 2011
In 2011, the number of new innovative drug treatments to enter the global consumer market reached a 10-year high of 31, compared with 21 new treatments in 2010, according to a recent report by Thomson Reuters unit CMR International. In addition, researchers in 2011 experienced higher success rates in the costly final stages of development, the report found. Reuters.
CalPERS Considers Rebidding Health Plan Contracts To Curb Costs
CalPERS likely will rebid its health insurance contracts that expire in December 2013 in an effort to curb rising health care costs. Earlier this month, CalPERS approved a plan to raise health insurance premiums by an average of 9.6% next year. Los Angeles Times.
Health Plan Rate Regulation Ballot Proposal Awaits Tally
It is not clear whether a proposal to boost state regulation of health insurance rates will qualify for the November ballot. Consumer Watchdog submitted more than 800,000 signatures in May, but counties still are validating the signatures to determine whether the proposal has the necessary 504,760 valid registered voter signatures to qualify for the ballot. The deadline for counties to report their validation sampling is midnight Thursday. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
FDA Approves First Rx Weight-Loss Drug in More Than a Decade
Yesterday, FDA granted market approval to a new prescription weight-loss drug for the first time in 13 years. San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals developed the new medication, which is called lorcaserin and will be sold under the name Belviq. New York Times et al.
UC-Davis Plans To Take Over Daily Operations of Calif. Cancer Registry
On Tuesday, UC-Davis Health System said it will take over the daily operations of the state Department of Public Health’s California Cancer Registry. The database contains information on millions of cancer cases that have been diagnosed in California. Modern Physician.
Study Links EHRs With Decline in Malpractice Claims
The rate of malpractice claims filed dropped significantly after physician practices adopted electronic health record systems, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. However, researchers note that the study has several limitations, such as the fact that the data came from physician practices that were covered by a malpractice insurer. MedPage Today, Modern Healthcare.
Kaiser Awards $1M in Grants to Sacramento-Area Groups
On Wednesday, Kaiser Permanente announced that it is awarding 43 grants totaling more than $1 million to Sacramento-area groups. The grants — which range from $5,000 to $98,000 — are aimed at improving health care access, supporting healthy eating and active living projects, and preventing family and community violence, according to Kaiser officials. Sacramento Bee.