Latest California Healthline Stories
Cancer Deaths Decrease for First Time in 70 Years
The number of cancer deaths in the U.S. decreased slightly in 2003 compared with the previous year, for the first time since 1930, according to the American Cancer Society’s “Cancer Facts and Figures” report released Thursday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
U.S. Employers Dropping Retiree Benefits
The New York Times on Thursday examined how large U.S. corporations are “reducing the burden of caring for retirees” by cutting pensions and health benefits so that they can “compete against foreign companies with lower benefits costs and domestic rivals with younger work forces and less generous benefit packages.”
McClellan Says Drug Benefit Implementation Improving
CMS is working to address problems in the implementation of the new Medicare prescription drug benefit and is looking for ways to make the program easier for beneficiaries to understand, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday, USA Today reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent County Health Care News
Monterey, Sacramento and San Bernardino counties this week acted on health care-related issues.
Nursing Program Expands to CSU-East Bay
California State University-East Bay next year will begin offering a four-year nursing degree at its Concord campus, which will allow about 20 new students per year to take all required courses without attending the main campus in Hayward, the Contra Costa Times reports.
FY 2006 Budget Signed; Committees Debate New Proposal
President Bush on Wednesday signed the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation bill (S 1932), which contains $40 billion in spending reductions from Medicare, Medicaid and other programs, the Washington Post reports.
Court Permits Lawsuits Against States for Nursing Services
Elderly and disabled people whose nursing care is stopped because of state budget cuts can sue their states under a provision of Medicaid that requires a specific level of nursing care for certain low-income beneficiaries, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Federal Bill Would Counteract California Anti-Toxics Law
The food industry is lobbying Congress to approve a bill “aimed at reining in California’s Proposition 65” that would require states to obtain FDA approval before mandating warnings on food packaging, store shelves and in advertising, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Other Sources Offer Better Information Than Drug Inserts
The New York Times on Tuesday examined how “the best sources of written information” about medications remain reference books and online guides written for consumers, despite “simplified package inserts for prescription drugs,” which were announced by FDA in January.
Newsom Delays Bond Measure for Hospital
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday said he would not include a multimillion-dollar bond proposal to rebuild San Francisco General Hospital on this year’s ballot, and instead proposed spending $25 million to determine the actual cost of the project, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.