Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

AIDS Foundation Files Amended Lawsuit Against Los Angeles County Office of AIDS

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed an amended lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Office of AIDS Programs and Policy, alleging that it did not appropriately use public funds and that department officials were involved in conflicts of interest, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.

USA Today Examines New Heart Medications

USA Today on Monday examined “the next frontier” in cardiology, in which researchers have begun to test new medications that seek to reduce the amount of plaque in the arteries through increased levels of HDL, or “good” cholesterol, which “hauls fat from the artery wall to the liver for excretion.”

Hospitals Try To Expand Nurse Recruitment Efforts

A statewide nursing shortage has led some clinics and hospitals to encourage retired nurses to take a refresher course and begin working again, the Marysville Appeal-Democrat reports.

Judge Bars Newspapers From Using Documents on Blood Substitute Citing Trade Secrets

Officials from Northfield Laboratories and the weekly newspaper San Diego Reader plan to meet this week to discuss a temporary court order barring the newspaper from publishing information obtained under the California Public Records Act about a synthetic blood substitute, a Northfield spokesperson said, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.

Bush Calls on Congress To Approve Medicare, Medicaid Cuts in Federal Budget

President Bush on Saturday in his weekly radio address said Congress should “finish its work” on the fiscal year 2006 spending cut package (S 1932) that includes the first cuts since 1997 to programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, the AP/USA Today reports.

More Doctors Accepting Medicare Beneficiaries, Study Says

The percentage of doctors who accept Medicare beneficiaries as new patients has increased in the past four years, despite a reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change shows, the AP/Boston Globe reports.

California Officials, Pharmacists Address Confusion Related to Medicare Drug Benefit

Database errors and overloaded telephone lines for pharmacists and seniors attempting to verify new Medicare prescription drug coverage have created “a large amount of problems” in California, according to Stan Rosenstein, state deputy director of medical services, the Los Angeles Times reports.

KPCC’s ‘Talk of the City’ Discusses Mental Health Spending Plans

KPCC’s “Talk of the City” on Wednesday included a discussion of spending plans in Los Angeles County and several other counties for funds from Proposition 63, a November 2004 ballot measure that increased the state income tax by 1% for state residents whose annual incomes exceed $1 million to fund mental health services.