Latest California Healthline Stories
Newsom Unveils Plans for Medical Center for Homeless in San Francisco
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday unveiled plans to open a 75- to 100-bed medical respite center next year to provide help for homeless people with medical, mental health or substance abuse problems, the San Francisco Examiner reports.
Senate Approves Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Reconciliation Bill
The Senate voted 51-50 on Wednesday to approve the fiscal year 2006 spending cut package (S 1932), with Vice President Dick Cheney returning from a trip in the Middle East to cast a tie-breaking vote, the AP/Washington Post reports.
One-Third of U.S. Teens Have Low Fitness Levels, Study Finds
More than one-third of U.S. teenagers and about 14% of young adults have low levels of cardiovascular fitness, according to the first nationwide study of physical fitness, the Washington Post reports.
Bill Seeks Moratorium on Pap Test Proficiency Exams for Providers
The College of American Pathologists is calling on Congress to stop the requirement that doctors and laboratory technicians who read Pap tests take annual proficiency exams, even though a high percentage of some health care workers failed the competency test, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Inmate Advocates File Lawsuit To Establish Standards for Dental Care in Prisons
The not-for-profit Prison Law Office on Monday filed a class-action lawsuit in federal District Court regarding dental care in state prisons, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Contra Costa Supervisors Approve Measure To Ban Outdoor Smoking in Public Areas
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to develop a plan to ban smoking in some outdoor areas, including picnic grounds, restaurant patios and multiunit housing complexes, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Department of Justice Conditionally Approves UnitedHealth’s Acquisition of PacifiCare
Officials for the Department of Justice on Tuesday said that the department will approve the proposed acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems by UnitedHealth Group, provided that the companies divest some PacifiCare businesses and revise a California network access agreement, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.
UCIMC CEO Misled Regulators About Transplant Program’s Staffing Problems
The CEO of the University of California-Irvine Medical Center last year misled federal regulators into believing that he was recruiting a full-time surgeon for the hospital’s liver transplant program to shore up staffing shortages, according to a report by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Consumers, Businesses, Health Groups Call for Sales-Tax Exemption for Botox
More than three dozen consumers, businesses and health groups sent letters to the Board of Equalization this month, urging the state to abandon a plan to tax the wrinkle treatment Botox, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Teenage Substance Abuse Declines Except for Illicit Prescription Drug Use
U.S. teenagers’ recreational use of prescription sedatives is at its highest rate in 26 years, and the illicit use of painkillers such as OxyContin also is increasing, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s Monitoring the Future Survey, the New York Times reports.