Latest California Healthline Stories
Fresno Mental Health Clinics Will Remain Open, Have Reduced Hours
Four mental health clinics in west Fresno and Fresno’s Pinedale, Reedley and Sanger neighborhoods will remain open about two days per week, Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health Director Giang Nguyen said, the Fresno Bee reports.
Democratic Leaders Outline Health Care Agenda
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday in a “pre-buttal” to the State of the Union address on Jan. 31 “offered blanket opposition” to health savings accounts and association health plans, CongressDaily reports.
Administration Acknowledges Problems With Medicare Drug Benefit, Pledges Action
CMS Deputy Administrator Leslie Norwalk on Thursday acknowledged problems with the Medicare drug benefit but said the agency is working to address the issues, the Washington Times reports.
San Francisco Supervisor Revises Employer Health Insurance Mandate
San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano on Thursday said he is amending his employer health insurance mandate to include a monthly fee as low as $50 per worker, compared with his original proposal to charge businesses as much as $345 monthly for employee health insurance, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Emergency Drug Coverage for Dual Eligibles Extended
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) authorized a 15-day extension of emergency prescription drug coverage for residents who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medi-Cal and are having problems obtaining medications under the Medicare drug benefit, the Modesto Bee reports.
State Board Designates Secondhand Smoke a Toxic Contaminant
The California Air Resources Board on Thursday unanimously voted to designate secondhand tobacco smoke as a “toxic air contaminant” after a study linked it with breast cancer in premenopausal women, among other diseases, the Sacramento Bee reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Sharp Healthcare in negotiations to extend lease on San Diego Facility; Santa Paula Memorial Hospital could reopen in April
Nursing Home Deficiencies Underreported, Report Finds
Health officials underreport deficiencies and harm to residents at California nursing homes, according to a report released last month by the Government Accountability Office, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Villaraigosa Heads Task Force To Address National Poverty Issues
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) on Wednesday convened a national task force on poverty and told mayors from around the country that low-income workers are “losing ground to the escalating costs of energy, tuition, medical care and childcare,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lung Cancer Risk Higher for African-American Smokers
African Americans who smoke face a higher risk of developing lung cancer than smokers of other races, indicating that genes “might help explain the racial differences long seen in the disease,” according to a study in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports.