Latest California Healthline Stories
Medical Pot Advocates Stump for Dispensary Regulation Bill
On Saturday, medical marijuana advocates launched a three-day event in Sacramento to rally support for a bill, by Assembly member Tom Ammiano, that would create a statewide oversight agency to regulate legal dispensaries. In Congress, Reps. Sam Farr, Tom McClintock and Dana Rohrabacher have co-sponsored an amendment that would block funding for federal efforts to close businesses in California and 16 other states that permit medical marijuana use. Sacramento Bee, Contra Costa Times.
LAO Says Budget Deficit Likely Higher Than Gov. Brown’s Recent Estimate
A new report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office projects that the state budget deficit is larger than Gov. Brown’s recent estimate of $15.7 billion. LAO indicated that the deficit could be higher than $17 billion. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert,” Sacramento Business Journal.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of May 18, 2012
The Los Angeles Times has obtained internal reports from Metropolitan State Hospital showing lapses in patient care. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has stopped construction on a support building after workers discovered a cemetery on the hospital grounds.
Senate Begins Debate on Measure To Reauthorize FDA User-Fee Programs
The Senate has started debating a bill to reauthorize and modify FDA’s prescription drug and medical device user-fee programs. Some stakeholders discussed adding language to the bill to create a national system to track prescription drug safety. The Hill‘s “Healthwatch” et al.
Survey: Health Costs a Top Issue for S.F. Small Businesses
Sixty-six percent of small business owners in the San Francisco Bay Area who responded to a Bank of America survey said that employee health care costs are a key concern relating to the economy’s effects on their business. At least 52% said they were confident about economic improvement in the next 12 months. San Francisco Business Times‘ “Bay Area BizTalk.”
California Nursing Board Accuses Training School Operators of Fraud
The state Board of Registered Nursing is seeking to revoke the licenses of nurses who operated a training school that was not approved by the board or accredited. Pending legislation would allow the board to order such schools to cease operations. California Watch.
Study Finds Federal Poverty Level Undercounts in Calif.
Many California residents are ineligible for potential safety-net programs because the current federal poverty level, at $15,130 for a couple, is too low, according to a new study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The study’s authors said the FPL should be nearly three times higher in some parts of the state, noting that 40% of adults older than age 65 and 25% of non-seniors are undercounted as being poor. Payers & Providers.
Opinion: Medicaid Expansion a Costly Part of Health Reform
In a Payers & Providers opinion piece, Texas physician Chris Rangel argues that a provision in the federal health reform law that will expand Medicaid coverage to individuals below 133% of the federal poverty level “is more likely to raise health care costs over the next decade” than the law’s individual insurance mandate. He writes, “Contrary to popular belief, the uninsured do not flood emergency rooms because they can’t get care elsewhere.” He notes, “They are their own best managed care system by avoiding expensive health care except for serious conditions,” which they may no longer be compelled to do after the Medicaid expansion. Payers & Providers.
Army Launches Review of PTSD Diagnoses Since 2001
On Wednesday, the U.S. Army launched a review into how its medical facilities have diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder and other behavioral health issues since 2001. Researchers will use statistical data from a cross section of cases and retirement evaluations from Army hospitals nationwide. The review comes after recent reports that some PTSD diagnoses were improperly reversed based on the associated costs and benefits to the military. Washington Post et al.
FDA Drug Approvals Outpace Canada, Europe, Study Finds
Between 2001 and 2010, FDA approved more new drugs in less time than regulators in Europe and Canada, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. The median time for FDA to review a drug was about 10-and-a-half months, which was about 45 to 70 days faster than the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada. FDA reviewed nearly 225 drug applications over the decade, 40 more than EMA and nearly 125 more than HC. AP/Sacramento Bee.