Latest California Healthline Stories
House, Senate Approve Bill To Extend Medicare Assistance Program
The House and Senate on Wednesday approved a compromise bill (HR 3971) that would renew a federal program that covered the cost of Medicare Part B premiums for low-income beneficiaries, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Grassley Needs Two Votes for Budget Package Including Medicare and Medicaid Spending Reductions
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday said he is two votes short of the majority needed for the committee to pass a fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation package that would cut $10 billion from Medicaid and Medicare, CongressDaily reports.
DHS Will Reconsider Termination of Molina Contracts
The Department of Health Services will re-evaluate its decision last spring not to renew its contracts with Long Beach-based Molina Healthcare to provide health care services for Medi-Cal beneficiaries in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Committee Considers Bill To Increase Preparedness for Bioterrorism, Disease Epidemics
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is marking up a bill (S 1873) that would create incentives for pharmaceutical companies to produce treatments in the event of a bioterrorist attack or epidemic of disease such as avian flu, CQ HealthBeat reports.
New International Stem Cell Program Will Establish Satellite Lab in San Francisco
A satellite lab will be established in San Francisco as part of South Korean researcher Woo Suk Hwang’s plan to set up an international stem cell bank to help make the technology available to other scientists, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Presidential Panel Recommends Caps on Tax Deductions for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
The nine-member President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform on Tuesday recommended two plans to revise the federal tax code, both of which would cap income tax deductions for employer-sponsored health insurance, among other provisions, the New York Times reports.
HHS Agencies Did Not Report Some Medical Malpractice Claims Paid to National Databank
HHS agencies between 1997 and 2004 did not report 474 cases in which they paid medical malpractice claims, according to an HHS Office of Inspector General report released on Tuesday, the New York Times reports.
IBM Offers Electronic Health Records System to Employees
IBM soon will launch a Web-based electronic health records system for its 180,000 U.S. employees, the Wall Street Journal reports.
CMS Administrator Discusses Drug Benefit in Sacramento
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan on Tuesday appeared at Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento with about 40 state leaders, advocates for the elderly and health professionals to discuss the Medicare drug benefit, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Proposal To Reduce Medicaid, Medicare Spending ‘Three or Four’ Votes Short, Grassley Says
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday said he is about “three or four votes” short of the total needed to approve a plan that would cut Medicaid and Medicare spending as part of the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation process, CQ HealthBeat reports.