Latest California Healthline Stories
Health Net Likely Target for Takeover by Aetna, Cigna, Analyst Says
More health insurance company mergers are expected by the end of the year, with Woodland Hills-based Health Net being a likely acquisition target, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Voters Reject Tax To Fund Trauma Center in Morongo Basin
Voters in the Morongo Basin have rejected a ballot measure that would have levied a $24 annual tax on property owners to fund what would have been the area’s first trauma center at Hi-Desert Medical Center in Joshua Tree, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Companies Launch Marketing Efforts for Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Companies offering prescription drug coverage under the new Medicare drug benefit began marketing their plans on Saturday, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Studies Compare Drug Discounts From Programs Similar to Propositions 78, 79
A prescription drug discount program in Maine that is similar to California’s Proposition 79 has reduced the price of generic drugs by 50% and the price of brand-name drugs by 25%, according to a study released Thursday by Prescription Drug Choices of Hallowell, Maine, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Health care advocates have asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to sign legislation by Assembly member Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) that seeks to streamline enrollment in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, but the advocates “are unlikely to get their wish,” the Contra Costa Times reports.
Supreme Court To Hear Case on Oregon’s Physician-Assisted Suicide Law
Beginning Wednesday, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Bush administration’s challenge to Oregon’s physician-assisted suicide law, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bush Nominates Miers as Supreme Court Justice; Positions on Issues Unknown
President Bush on Monday nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the New York Times reports.
Bush Administration Expected To Request $6B to $10B for Avian Flu Pandemic Preparedness Plan
The Bush administration plans to ask Congress for an estimated $6 billion to $10 billion to stockpile vaccines and antiviral medications as part of its plans to prepare the U.S. for a possible flu pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Westly Announces Opposition to PacifiCare, UnitedHealth Merger
Controller Steve Westly (D), who is running for governor in 2006, on Friday announced his opposition to UnitedHealth Group’s proposed $8.1 billion acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Scientists Discuss Future of Stem Cell Research at CIRM Conference
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine on Saturday and Sunday in San Francisco organized a conference to help direct decisions on awarding grants for stem cell research under Proposition 71, the Sacramento Bee reports.