Latest California Healthline Stories
Editorial: Obama’s HIV/AIDS Strategy on Target for U.S.
President Obama’s new initiative to combat HIV/AIDS provides a “better focus” and “comes none too soon” as about 90,000 California residents have died from the disease and roughly 200,000 individuals will have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS by the end of 2010, a Sacramento Bee editorial states. By allocating resources to high-risk populations and focusing on prevention, the administration’s effort “offers hope that this scourge one day will be turned into a memory,” the editorial concludes. Sacramento Bee.
California Counties Face Funding Challenges for Retiree Health Benefits
Sacramento County faces about $245.6 million in long-term unfunded liability for about 3,900 retirees’ medical and dental insurance costs. Many other local governments are facing similar challenges with unfunded liabilities for retiree health care. Sacramento Bee.
Whooping Cough Outreach Targets Minorities in Calif.
Last week, the California Department of Health announced the launch of an outreach campaign designed to disseminate information about pertussis, or whooping cough, to minority communities throughout the state. The health department is teaming up with the ethnic media group New America Media to raise awareness about whooping cough vaccinations. The state also has released Spanish-language public service announcements about the disease. Los Angeles Times‘ “L.A. Now,” AP/San Francisco Chronicle.
Reprimanded Nurses Usually Can Find Work Out of State
Nurses who are disciplined in one state often are able to locate work in another state because of lax regulatory efforts in the 24-state Nurse Licensure Compact program, an investigation by the not-for-profit news group ProPublica found. In California, for example, about 3,500 nurses who had been disciplined in other states had clean licenses. Officials say that nurses who are sanctioned to work in one state after receiving disciplinary action in another could put patient safety at risk. USA Today.
Bill To Protect State Worker Wages Advances to Senate
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 6-1 to approve AB 1699, which would extend continuous appropriation status to state employee pay and prevent it from potentially being subject to minimum-wage requirements under a budget impasse. The legislation now moves to the Senate floor, where Republicans previously have blocked similar legislation. Sacramento Bee‘s “The State Worker.”
Penn. Gov.: Congress Not Likely To Extend State Medicaid Funding
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says Congress is unlikely to pass legislation to give states additional Medicaid funding before the current infusion of funds runs out. Some states had anticipated the extra money when laying out budget plans. Bloomberg Businessweek, CongressDaily.
Conservatives Support Discharge Petition That Would Repeal Overhaul
On Wednesday, advocacy groups sent members of Congress a letter calling for a vote on legislation to overturn the new health reform law. The letter represents conservatives’ latest push to mount constitutional challenges to the overhaul. CQ HealthBeat, CongressDaily.
State Universities Get NIH Grant for Clinical Research
UC-San Diego, UC-Irvine and the University of Southern California were among the nine facilities to receive the latest funding grants from NIH’s Clinical and Translation Science Awards. NIH will award grants to five more research centers in July 2011. The funding is geared specifically toward Phase I clinical trials. San Diego Union-Tribune, Orange County Register.
FDA Panel Says Avandia Can Stay on Market Despite Risk
On Wednesday, an FDA advisory committee voted to keep the diabetes drug Avandia on the market despite acknowledging that the drug increases risk for heart problems. Most panelists concluded that there was insufficient evidence to conclude that the drug raises the risk of death. A majority of panel members voted to require the drug’s manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, to conduct a clinical trial to determine Avandia’s safety if FDA allows it to remain on the market. Washington Post, New York Times.
California Hospital News Roundup for the Week of July 16, 2010
An independent draft report found that Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center is too small and would need 97 additional beds to meet patient demand. Meanwhile, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted to authorize a lease for a new medical complex in Thousand Oaks.