Latest California Healthline Stories
FDA Investigating Effect of Drug Price Promotions
FDA is investigating how pharmaceutical companies’ use of coupons and rebates on prescription drugs influences consumers’ views of the products, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports.
Tooth Decay Most Prevalent Health Problem for California Children
Nearly 71% of California children in the third grade have had tooth decay, making it the most prevalent health problem among children in the state, according to a study released Sunday by the Dental Health Foundation, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Medicare Drug Benefit Raises Workflow Issues for SSA
The Social Security Administration is having difficulty keeping up with the volume of work created by the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, and some services provided under the agency might have to be cut back as a result, an SSA official said in a recent e-mail, the Los Angeles Times reports.
CIRM Could Receive $40M in Donations Within a Month
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine could receive $40 million in philanthropic loans within the next 30 days, CIRM Chair Robert Klein said on Friday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Workers’ Compensation Reforms Reduce Employer Costs by $8.1B
Reforms to California’s workers’ compensation insurance system have reduced costs to employers by at least $8.1 billion over the last three years, according to a study released Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Budget Proposal To Include $36B in Medicare Spending Reductions
President Bush on Monday is expected to release a $2.7 trillion budget proposal for fiscal year 2007 that includes $36 billion in spending reductions for Medicare over five years, the AP/Miami Herald reports.
Columnist Addresses WellPoint Profit, Benefits
Something is “askew” when an insurer such as WellPoint “harangues customers about their irksome ‘demand for high-tech procedures,'” while its “coffers are bursting full,” columnist Michael Hiltzik writes in his “Golden State” column in the Los Angeles Times.
NIH Program To Educate Doctors About Blood Pressure Drugs
NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute on Wednesday announced it will launch a three-year project to encourage the use of the most effective blood pressure medications, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Plan Calls for Expansion of Pay-for-Performance Program
Performance-based pay for many California doctors would increase from 1.5% to 10% of their salaries in five years under a plan to be released on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Committee Recommends Drafting Measure Partly To Fund Health Programs
A Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors committee on Thursday recommended that the full board authorize county staff to draft a potential ballot measure to impose a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for health and human services and transportation programs, the San Jose Mercury News reports.