Latest California Healthline Stories
Emergency Medical Care Receives C-Minus Grade in ACEP Analysis; California Receives Highest Grade
Emergency medical care in the U.S. received an overall C-minus grade on Tuesday in the first national state-by-state analysis, USA Today reports.
New Law Expands TRICARE Access for National Guard, Reservists
President Bush on Friday signed into law the $491.5 billion fiscal year 2006 National Defense Authorization Act (HR 1815), which expands access to TRICARE — the military health insurance system — for National Guard members and reservists, CQ Today reports.
Health Care Disparities Increase Among Latinos, AHRQ Report Says
Health care disparities for most U.S. minorities compared with whites are narrowing, but Latinos are falling further behind, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Breast Cancer Survivors Report Fatigue 10 Years After Diagnosis
More than one-third of breast cancer survivors report ongoing fatigue problems up to 10 years after their initial diagnosis, according to a study published on Monday in the online edition of Cancer, Reuters/Washington Times reports.
CMS Acts To Address 4.4% Medicare Provider Payment Cut
CMS last week announced plans to reprocess Medicare claims later this year to erase a 4.4% reduction in payments to providers that took effect Jan. 1 if Congress approves a freeze instead of a cut in rates, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Public Schools Seek Speech Pathologists as Number of Autistic Children Increases
As the number of autistic children in California continues to increase, public schools are finding it difficult to recruit an adequate number of speech pathologists, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Critics Debate the Use of Unscientific Factors in FDA Drug Approvals
The Baltimore Sun on Monday examined how some critics are saying that FDA or another government entity should “look beyond the safety of the foods and drugs it regulates and consider decidedly unscientific factors, including the ethics and health care costs of approving certain products.”
States Address Concerns About Medicare Drug Benefit
Governments in at least four states last week took legislative action to address concerns that poor individuals have been unable to obtain needed medications since the Medicare drug benefit began on Jan. 1, the New York Times reports.
Recent cuts to physician reimbursement rates for doctors treating Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Sonoma County have raised concerns that fewer doctors will accept such beneficiaries, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Incidences of Assaults on Staff Increase at State Hospitals
The number of incidences of hitting, kicking and other aggressive acts against staff of Atascadero State Hospital and other state hospitals has increased over the past two years, the Los Angeles Times reports.