Latest California Healthline Stories
Los Angeles County Targets Anti-Smoking Campaign at Gays, Lesbians
Los Angeles County officials on Thursday launched a new campaign encouraging gays and lesbians to quit smoking, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
California To Encourage People With Mental Illnesses To Work Without Losing State Benefits
The Department of Mental Health recently announced plans to make “supported employment” — a movement that encourages people with severe mental illnesses who are able and willing to work to earn regular salaries without risking state-funded benefits — a “benchmark of its treatment programs,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Eligibility for Drug Discount Programs in San Luis Obispo County Examined
More than one in 10 San Luis Obispo County residents “could be affected by whichever drug discount program California voters choose” on the Nov. 8 special election ballot, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
Experts Consider Recommending Flu Vaccines to All U.S. Residents
Vaccine experts are considering recommending that all U.S. residents receive an annual flu vaccination in an effort to reduce the number of illnesses and deaths from the flu each year, USA Today reports.
CMS Announces Voluntary MD Quality Measures Reporting Program
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan on Friday announced a new voluntary program for physicians to self-report adherence to certain evidence-based quality measures, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Proposition 78 Supporters Outspend Proposition 79 Supporters; Opinion Pieces Detail Options
The campaign in favor of Proposition 78 and against Proposition 79 has broken spending records for California initiative campaigns and has “poured $76.5 million into television ads, mail and other activities” intended to persuade voters for the Nov. 8 special election, the Los Angeles Times reports.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Approves $9.5B in Medicaid Cuts
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday voted 28-22 along party lines to approve a fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation package that would cut Medicaid spending by about $9.5 billion over five years, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Health IT Bill Calls for Universal Privacy Standards
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) and Commerce Health Subcommittee Chair Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) on Thursday introduced a bill (HR 4157) that would allow HHS to develop national medical privacy standards and ease restrictions on the donation of information technology equipment to doctors, CQ HealthBeat reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Union complaint questions Modesto hospital’s tax-exempt status; San Pablo hospital plan closes, reduces services in three units
Poll Finds Opposition Exceeds Support for Parental Notification Measure
Opposition to Proposition 73 exceeds support for the measure by about six percentage points, according to a new statewide poll by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California, the Sacramento Bee reports.