Latest California Healthline Stories
VA Disability Claims Processing Continues To Worsen, Report Finds
In its annual report to Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs said it took an average of 183 days to process disability claims in fiscal year 2007, six days more than it took last year. VA officials said hiring more employees could help speed up the process. McClatchy/Miami Herald.
Assembly Republicans Could Miss Vote on Health Care Reform
A scheduling conflict might prevent Assembly Republicans from voting on Democrats’ health care reform plan next week, but Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez says that the vote can’t be delayed. He has already pushed back the vote once. Sacramento Bee‘s “Capitol Alert,” Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Democrats’ Kids’ Health Plan Should Maintain Coverage
In an opinion piece, the vice chair of political affairs for the San Francisco Republican Party writes that Democrats’ reform plan for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program is actually an attempt to create a single-payer, government-run health system. San Francisco Chronicle.
Lawmakers Seek Better Oversight of State Veterans Nursing Homes
The Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee argued that California officials have done a poor job overseeing construction of veterans homes, leading to costly repairs that might have forced the state to limit admissions to the care facilities. California currently has three veterans homes and plans to open several more by 2010. Copley News Service/San Diego Union-Tribune.
Group Sues Medicare Over Off-Label Rx Drug Coverage
The Medicare Rights Center maintains that Medicare’s policy of not providing coverage for drugs prescribed for off-label use “conflicts with standard medical practice” and “hurts the most vulnerable” Medicare patients, according to the lawsuit. The suit names CMS, HHS and department Secretary Mike Leavitt and seeks more than $100,000. The Hill.
California Officials Mull Options for Kids’ Health Insurance Plan
California will be about $260 million short of the funding needed to maintain current enrollment rules for its version of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in 2008 if federal funding isn’t increased. KQED’s “The California Report.”
Romney, Giuliani Trade Barbs Over Health Plans
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said fellow GOP contender Rudy Giuliani supported a health care proposal by former President Bill Clinton and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in the 1990s. Giuliani’s representatives said the Massachusetts health insurance law passed during Romney’s governorship is “just like HillaryCare.” AP/Miami Herald et al.
Stem Cell Agency To Undergo Routine Audit by California Controller
The audit will be the third for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine since its creation in 2004. The state will review the agency’s grant awarding process to ensure that it is ethical and transparent to the public. San Diego Union-Tribune et al.
Study: Breast Cancer Risk Model Inaccurate for Blacks
The study found that a new model using data from the Women’s Health Initiative was more accurate than the National Cancer Institute’s model at predicating black women’s risk of breast cancer. NCI said it will update its risk assessment tool to better reflect black women’s risk. Washington Post et al.
States With High Uninsured Rates Have More Suicides
A study by Mental Health America found that states with lower suicide rates also had lower rates of residents without health insurance, higher rates of adults who received mental health care, more psychologists and psychiatrists, and mental health parity laws. Utah, West Virginia, Idaho and Nevada had the highest suicide rates. USA Today.