Latest California Healthline Stories
Panel Will Advise FDA on Publicizing Medical Risks
The 15-member panel is designed to help FDA better communicate to the public information about product risks and benefits. The announcement of the new panel comes before a congressional hearing about the agency’s lack of warning about a possible heart risk associated with a diabetes drug. Reuters/New York Times.
Measures on Blood Banking, Still Birth Advance in California
The Assembly OK’d a program to collect blood from umbilical cords, a treatment for some diseases, while the Senate passed a measure to issue certificates of still birth. The bills move to the other chamber of the Legislature. AP/Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News.
Activists Push for Prostate Cancer Drug Approval
Approval of Dendreon’s prostate cancer drug Provenge could be delayed at least two years after FDA in May withheld approval and instead issued an “approvable” letter. The so-called cancer vaccine is part of an experimental class of treatments designed to use the body’s white blood cells to attack tumors. Philadelphia Inquirer, Bloomberg/Seattle Times.
Obama Defends Health Plan in Letter to the Editor
Sen. Barack Obama calls a recent editorial on his universal health care proposal “simply inaccurate” and defends his decision not to require residents to purchase insurance, saying that such a mandate would “make a bad problem worse.” Boston Globe.
Sharp HealthCare Hit With Major Complaint by Nurses Union
The nurses union says the charges comprise the largest quality-of-care complaint in California history. However, a hospital official downplayed the 900 charges, pointing out that Sharp HealthCare treats more than 800,000 patients annually. AP/San Francisco Chronicle et al.
Health Benefits Resolved In Grocery Worker Talks
Health care benefits have been the sticking point in contract negotiations between union officials and grocery chains in Southern California, but people close to the talks say that a tentative deal has been reached that could reduce the waiting period for workers to obtain benefits. Los Angeles Times.
AARP Could Influence California Health Care Reform Debate
AARP’s participation in a campaign backing health care reform could increase pressure on California lawmakers to take action on the issue this year. As legislators weigh the options before them, the chair of the Little Hoover Commission is calling for them to consider reworking Medi-Cal a key objective in wider health care reform efforts. Ventura County Star, Sacramento Bee.
Democratic Candidates for President Debate Health Care Issues
Former Sen. Edwards questioned the stance of candidates who proposed expanded health coverage without increased spending and criticized Sen. Obama’s proposal for not requiring people to buy health insurance. Washington Post et al.
Debate on Doctor-Assisted Suicide Gains Attention
Advocates for legalized physician-assisted suicide believe that the outcome of the debate on a bill to permit the practice in California will be a tell-tale sign of prospects for similar legislation in other states. Jack Kevorkian’s release from prison is again heightening discussion of the issue. New York Times et al.
Hospital Associations Object to Proposed Medicare Rule
Hospital groups argue the proposed rule would reduce a scheduled reimbursement increase, but CMS officials counter that such an assessment is a “terrible mischaracterization” of the suggested changes to hospital billing procedures. Philadelphia Inquirer.