Latest California Healthline Stories
Humana Reaches Settlement in Class-Action Lawsuit Filed by 700,000 Physicians Nationwide
Kentucky-based Humana has reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 700,000 physicians nationwide, the AP/Wall Street Journal reports.
Lawsuit Alleges Delayed State Response to Nursing Home Complaints
California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform and two relatives of patients who died in nursing homes filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Department of Health Services seeking to compel the agency to respond to nursing home complaints within the required 10-day period, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
LAX Officials Planning for Potential Quarantines To Help Prevent Spread of Avian Flu
Los Angeles International Airport officials are deciding how to quarantine hundreds of passengers on the airfield to prevent the spread of avian flu in the event a passenger on a plane is infected with the disease, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate Panel Discussions on Medicare, Medicaid Spending Reductions Continue as Deadline Nears
Senate Finance Committee members met on Monday to negotiate a plan that would cut Medicaid and Medicare spending as part of the fiscal year 2006 budget reconciliation process, but committee Chair Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) latest package did not achieve a consensus among conservative and moderate Republicans, CongressDaily reports.
Chiron Lowers Production Forecast for Flu Vaccines for Upcoming Season
Chiron on Monday announced that it will supply fewer than the 18 million to 26 million doses of flu vaccine it had predicted in June because of ongoing production delays, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Groups Debate Implications of Enrollment in Maine, Ohio Drug Discount Programs
The Maine Rx Plus program — which is similar to Proposition 79 on the Nov. 8 special election ballot — is used by at least 40% of eligible Maine residents, or 7% of the state’s population, while the Ohio’s Best Rx program — similar to Proposition 78 — has enrolled no more than 12% of Ohio’s eligible population, or less than half of 1% of the state’s residents, the Los Angeles Times reports.
San Diego County Vulnerable to Pandemic Disease Outbreak, Officials Indicate
A Department of Defense report from a “super aggressive” virus drill done in December 2004 in San Diego details how health care providers, law enforcement and military should work to contain a potential disease outbreak, but it has yet to be released to the public, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
CalPERS Opposes Executive Payments in UnitedHealth-PacifiCare Deal
The CalPERS board on Monday voted to oppose a provision in an acquisition plan between UnitedHealth Group and PacifiCare Health Systems that would result in $345 million in payments to 39 PacifiCare executives, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles County auditors rejected more than $206,000, or 15%, of the $1.3 million in expenses Navigant Consulting submitted for its work at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
More California Employers Offering Cross-Border Health Plans
At least 150,000 California workers are enrolled in employer-sponsored health plans that offer services in Mexico, insurers say, and the number of firms offering such plans is increasing, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.