Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

Federal Budget Bill Would Cause Loss of Medicaid Coverage, CBO Says

About 45,000 Medicaid beneficiaries would lose coverage in 2010 because of premiums included in the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation bill (S 1932), and 65,000 would lose coverage in 2015, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office, the New York Times reports.

Project Will Study Combined Effects of Pesticides on Children’s Health

Community leaders and scientists from the Department of Pesticide Regulation on Saturday announced a year-long project to examine whether 40 pesticides and other airborne pollutants in Parlier — a community in the Central Valley — are present at levels damaging to children’s health, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Corporations Relying on Government Health Programs

The New York Times on Sunday examined how many U.S. corporations increasingly are relying on government to provide health care benefits for employees, despite a traditional stance that public assistance programs were bad for business.

Trace Amounts of Pharmaceuticals Found in Southern California Water

Southern California water-quality officials have reported that small amounts of prescription drugs have been detected in sewage that is later reclaimed and consumed by the public, the Los Angeles Times reports.

RAND Health Economics Director Addresses Long-Term Health Costs

“California Connected” — a weekly, hourlong newsmagazine produced by PBS stations in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego and San Francisco that covers state events and issues — on Friday included an interview with Dana Goldman, director of health economics at RAND Health and professor of health services and radiology at the University of California-Los Angeles, about how to address long-term, increased health care costs.

County Plan Moves To Reduce Childhood Obesity Rates

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to encourage a coalition of not-for-profit organizations, businesses, schools and health care providers to address childhood obesity, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.

Enrollment in HSAs Up

Enrollment in high-deductible plans that qualify for health savings accounts tripled to three million over the last 10 months, according to a study released on Thursday by America’s Health Insurance Plans, the Los Angeles Times reports.