Latest California Healthline Stories
Disability Insurers File Lawsuit Against Changes Proposed by Garamendi
The Association of California Life and Health Insurance Companies, America’s Health Insurance Plans and the American Council of Life Insurers on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in Sacramento Superior Court seeking to prevent unilateral changes to disability insurance policies, the Sacramento Bee reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Needles hospital seeks critical access designation; Kaiser Permanente prepares to open clinics in Ventura County
Doctors in Parts of Sonoma County No Longer Eligible for Higher Medicare Reimbursement Rate
Primary care doctors in a portion of southern Sonoma County will lose a 10% Medicare reimbursement bonus in January because the county lost federal designation as a Health Professional Shortage Area, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Judge Orders Staff Appointment, Other Actions in Prison Health Care Case
A federal judge on Thursday ordered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to appoint by next Thursday a staff member to implement a series of emergency actions to address the quality issues in the state prison health care system, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Broad Institute To Receive Additional $100M for Genomic Research
California businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad and his wife, Edythe, will donate an additional $100 million to the Broad Institute, a Cambridge, Mass., genomic research center established in 2004 through an initial $100 million donation from the Broads, the Boston Globe reports.
Smith Says GOP Group Will Oppose Medicaid Budget Cuts
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) on Wednesday said at a news conference that he would vote against a final version of the 2006 Budget Reconciliation Act if it contains cuts to Medicaid and food stamp programs, the Oregonian reports.
Garamendi Might Pursue Increase in Percentage of Premiums Insurers Must Spend on Care
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) at a hearing on Thursday said he might seek to increase the percentage of premium dollars that insurers must spend on medical care under state law, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Administration Video News Releases Violate State Law, Judge Rules
The Health and Human Services Agency and the Labor and Workforce Development Agency improperly used public funds for video news releases supporting proposals by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to modify state labor laws, including nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, a Superior Court judge ruled on Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
State Supreme Court To Decide Whether Employees Can Be Fired for Using Medical Marijuana
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a case about the firing of an employee who uses marijuana under Proposition 215, the 1996 California law that legalized marijuana use with a doctor’s recommendation, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
CMS Announces Safeguards for Dual-Eligible Medicare Drug Coverage
CMS on Thursday announced that dual eligibles who are not automatically enrolled in the new Medicare prescription drug benefit or have not selected a plan on their own by Jan. 1, 2006, still will be able to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies, the AP/Barre-Montpelier Times Argus reports.