Latest California Healthline Stories
GOP Senators Hope To Pass Flu Vaccine Liability Protections
Some Senate Republicans hope to add “sweeping language” that would provide flu vaccine manufacturers with liability protections to the “must-pass” fiscal year 2006 defense appropriations bill (HR 2863), a move that has “sparked outrage from Democrats and consumer advocates,” USA Today reports.
House Approves Revised Labor-HHS Spending Bill
The House on Wednesday voted 215-213 to approve a $602 billion fiscal year 2006 Labor-HHS spending bill that reduces discretionary spending by about 1% to $142.5 billion, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Los Angeles Schools To Limit Fat, Salt and Sugar in Meals
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved a proposal to limit fat, sodium and sugar levels in school meals by July 2008, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles County Launches Online STD Alert System
A Web site that allows users who have been diagnosed with HIV or another sexually transmitted disease to send e-cards to inform their sex partners of their condition went online in Los Angeles County on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Health Care Proposals Among White House Aging Conference Delegates’ Recommendations
Delegates at the 2005 White House Conference on Aging made a number of policy recommendations in the final day of the conference on Wednesday, including several related to health care, the St. Petersburg Times reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines Care at Metropolitan State Hospital
Metropolitan State Hospital in 2002 adopted a new model for care, but the facility “is more dangerous than any of California’s three other long-established mental hospitals,” according to a Los Angeles Times review of state data and legal claims.
Three San Luis Obispo County Hospitals Among Most Expensive in Nation, Study Says
Three hospitals in San Luis Obispo County are ranked among the 100 U.S. facilities with the highest gross charges, according to a survey released Tuesday by the California Nurses Association, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
Federal, State Officials Investigate UCI Medical Center Programs
CMS and the Department of Health Services this week — prompted by problems discovered in the hospital’s liver transplant program — began investigating whether other programs at the University of California-Irvine Medical Center meet federal requirements, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Medication as Effective As Surgery in Treating Acid Reflux
Proton pump inhibitors are as effective as surgery at treating gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to a report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Scripps Howard/Sacramento Bee reports.
Blacks More Likely To Live in Areas With Pollution-Related Health Risks
Black U.S. residents are nearly 80% more likely than white U.S. residents to live in areas where industrial pollution could pose the highest health risks, according to an Associated Press analysis of government data, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.