Latest California Healthline Stories
Officials in Sacramento and San Luis Obispo counties this week will consider proposals for funds from Proposition 63, which state voters approved in November 2004 to provide funds for mental health services.
Federal Officials To Continue Encouraging Enrollment in Medicare Drug Benefit Subsidy
About 200,000 of the estimated 1.6 million low-income Californians who could qualify for the Medicare prescription drug benefit at no or reduced cost have applied, the Sacramento Bee reports.
New York Times Examines Emphasis on Children’s Coverage
The New York Times on Sunday examined how the number of U.S. children with health insurance has increased in recent years, even as the number of adults with health insurance has decreased.
Physicians Can Use Religious Beliefs as Defense in Insemination Case, Court Rules
A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal in San Diego on Friday ruled unanimously that there is enough evidence for two North San Diego County doctors to argue that their religious beliefs prevented them from artificially inseminating an unmarried lesbian, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
AARP Launches Campaign Against Asset-Transfer Changes in Budget Compromise
AARP has launched a nationwide media campaign in opposition to provisions in the House budget reconciliation package (HR 4241) that would tighten Medicaid asset-transfer rules for long-term nursing home coverage, the Washington Times reports.
BCBS Association To Create Bank for Health Savings Accounts
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association plans to charter a bank to manage enrollees’ health savings accounts directly, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Greenspan Recommends ‘Significant Adjustments’ to Medicare
Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, who will retire at the end of next month, on Friday said that Congress must make “significant adjustments” to Medicare and Social Security to address the federal budget deficit, CQ HealthBeat reports.
San Joaquin Valley Not Meeting Federal Health Standards, Report Finds
San Joaquin Valley adults meet federal health targets in one of 10 categories and did not do better than other regions of the state in any of the 10 categories, according to a report released Thursday by California State University-Fresno, the Modesto Bee reports.
DHS Continues Investigation of Family Planning Clinic
Department of Health Services officials in October issued a cease-and-desist order to the Family Planning Medical Center in West Covina and are investigating whether the clinic was operating without a license, the San Gabriel Valley Tribune reports.
The New York Times on Monday examined how, despite the increased number of U.S. employers that are “abandoning their role in providing health insurance to their employees,” the “current system of providing insurance to most working Americans through their employers is not likely to disappear.