Latest California Healthline Stories
Assembly Committee OKs Bill on Medical Pot Dispensaries
On Tuesday, the Assembly’s public safety committee voted 4-2 to pass a bill, by Assembly member Tom Ammiano, that would create statewide regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries. Lawmakers voted along party lines, with Democrats supporting the bill. The measure now goes to the Assembly appropriations committee. AP/UT-San Diego.
Supreme Court Weighs Overtime Pay for Drug Firm Representatives
Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case about whether pharmaceutical representatives should receive overtime pay. If the court sides with the plaintiffs, drugmakers could be forced to pay billions in overtime to more than 90,000 representatives. Reuters et al.
HHS OIG Report Finds Gaps in Nursing Home Disaster Plans
Nursing homes across the country are not adequately prepared to protect residents and provide continuing care during a natural disaster, according to a report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General. The report recommends that Medicare and Medicaid add specific emergency planning and training requirements to federal regulations on disaster preparedness for nursing homes. U-T San Diego.
CDC Report Shows Drop in Accidental Deaths Among Kids, Teenagers
Accidental deaths among children and teenagers declined by 30% between 2000 and 2009, a CDC report finds. However, the report notes that prescription drug misuse contributed to a 91% increase in poisoning deaths among teens during that time frame. USA Today et al.
Compromise Tax Plan’s Supporters Seek Help From Legislative Staff
Proponents of a tax hike proposal developed by Gov. Brown and backers of the “Millionaires Tax” are seeking help from Democratic staff members in the Legislature to collect more than 800,000 signatures in support of the plan by next month. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert.”
Many Medi-Cal Caregivers Are Low-Income, Report Finds
More than 50% of California’s long-term caregivers who are paid by Medi-Cal to aid low-income seniors and residents with disabilities are living in poverty or close to living in poverty, according to a new report by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. Capitol Public Radio’s “KXJZ News.”
Opinion: Big Tobacco Will Try To Sway Voters on Prop. 29
In a Sacramento Bee opinion piece, columnist Dan Morain notes that the tobacco industry “will spend tens of millions of dollars telling [voters] why Proposition 29 … is a terrible idea.” The June 5 ballot initiative would raise California’s tobacco tax by $1 per pack and generate hundreds of millions of dollars for medical research and tobacco cessation, prevention and enforcement initiatives. Morain writes that many Californians “will find reasons to vote against it, courtesy of tobacco-funded ads,” but that the “$441 million fund for research is one reason to vote for Proposition 29, so long as the money stays in California.” Sacramento Bee.
UC-San Diego Studies Hospital Interiors During Earthquakes
UC-San Diego researchers are studying the effect of an earthquake on structures and items inside of hospitals. Engineers have built an 80-foot furnished facility atop a platform that can shake to simulate an earthquake. AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
Columnist Warns Effect of Tax Hike Plans Largely Unknown
Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters argues that while Californians “will be inundated with claims, counterclaims and other forms of propaganda” by the proponents of tax hike proposals over the next few months, voters “won’t hear much about the actual impacts of changing the tax system” because the proponents will “as usual, appeal to emotion, not reason.” Sacramento Bee.
Analysis: March Revenues $236M Below Expectations
California’s revenue in March was about $236 million below estimates by Gov. Brown, according to an analysis released Friday by the California Department of Finance. The findings differ slightly from a recent analysis by State Controller John Chiang, but both reports found that state revenues are below projections. Orange County Register‘s “Total Buzz.”