Latest California Healthline Stories
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Urges ‘No’ Vote on Parental Notification Measure
Proposition 73 would increase “the risk that pregnant teens fearful of their parents’ reaction will delay having” an abortion, which would “rais[e] the danger to their health,” a San Francisco Chronicle editorial states, adding that state residents should “reject Proposition 73” in the Nov. 8 special election.
California Healthline Rounds Up Recent Hospital News
John Muir/Mt. Diablo Health System considering construction of new hospital; Paradise Valley Hospital plan to sell homes to hospital personnel approved
CMS To Launch Online Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Plan Comparison Tool on Monday
A new online tool allowing Medicare beneficiaries to compare prescription drug plans will launch Monday, following an earlier delay, CMS officials announced Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
Most State Residents Would Not Be Affected by Drug Discount Measures
The Sacramento Bee on Friday examined Propositions 78 and 79, including effects on underinsured residents and the uninsured who, according to the Bee, “are at a big disadvantage when they walk into a pharmacy.”
Concentrated Poverty Affects Physical, Mental Health, Study Finds
Poverty is more concentrated in Fresno neighborhoods than in those of any other large U.S. city, according to a Brookings Institution study released on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports. The study, based on data from the 2000 census, found that concentrated poverty contributes to poor physical and mental health outcomes, in part because of “the stress of being poor and marginalized” and “living in an environment with dilapidated housing and high crime.”
Mexican immigrants are less likely than people born in the U.S. to consult a physician, use emergency departments or have health insurance, according to a study released Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Pharmacies in Minority Areas Understocked on Painkillers, Study Finds
Pharmacies in majority black neighborhoods are less likely to maintain adequate supplies of opioid painkillers than majority white neighborhoods, according to a study published this week in the Journal of Pain, the Washington Post reports.
WHO Will Not Eradicate Polio Worldwide by 2005, Officials Announce
Officials for the World Health Organization on Wednesday announced that they will not meet a target to eradicate polio worldwide by the end of the year, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Los Angeles County Approves Mental Health Services Spending Plan
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a spending plan for the county’s share of funds for mental health services from Proposition 63, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Vetoes Bill Reinstating Funding for San Francisco-Based Trauma Recovery Center
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has vetoed a bill (AB 1768) that would have authorized $1.3 million to continue operations at the Trauma Recovery Center in San Francisco for one year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.