Latest California Healthline Stories
Bill Would Mandate HPV Vaccination
Legislation requiring girls to receive a vaccination for human papillomavirus would create the state’s only immunization requirement that is intended for a single gender. HPV has been linked to cervical cancer. Sacramento Bee.
UnitedHealth CEO Resignation Raises Issues
The UnitedHealth board of directors withdrew support for chair and CEO William McGuire after an attorney indicated that he likely would be charged for inappropriately dating stock options. McGuire has agreed to return stock options valued at about $200 million. Wall Street Journal.
Congress Closer to Agreement on Physician Payments
A bipartisan group of legislators agreed to include a reversal of the Medicare physician reimbursement reduction in a bill that also includes tax cut extensions and trade and energy policies. Some terms of the changes remain in contention. CongressDaily, CQ HealthBeat.
Employers Launch Electronic Records Initiative
Five major companies will provide workers with a personal health record system that will include information from multiple sources, such as providers, pharmacies and insurers. AP/Houston Chronicle et al.
Revisions Possible for Medicare Payments for Anemia Drugs
Experts at a Congressional hearing called for Medicare to bundle reimbursements for anemia medications and dialysis services, saying that such a policy would encourage physicians to use the proper amount of the treatments. Reuters/New York Times et al.
Stem Cell Agency To Vote on 10-Year Plan
The agency’s 10-year plan provides guidelines for marketing and pricing therapies and outlines the distribution in profits from discoveries developed with public funding. An editorial calls for the agency to be more transparent and reveal conflicts of interest with grant recipients because of the amount of public funds at stake. Sacramento Bee.
Studies Find Decline in Breast Cancer Rates, Increase in Air Pollution
A study of Kaiser’s Northern California patients found a possible link between breast cancer and combined hormone therapy for women after menopause, while a study of air quality linked more than 1,000 premature deaths and half a million school and work absences to construction-related air pollution. San Francisco Chronicle et al.
State Proposes Workers’ Compensation Regulations
The Division of Workers’ Compensation said the proposed rules would ensure that workers are not denied medication, surgery or other procedures that were recommended by a physician. Los Angeles Times.
Health Care Training Programs Receive Funds
Fourteen colleges and universities throughout California will share grant money intended to increase the number of health care professionals in California. Sacramento Business Journal.