Latest California Healthline Stories
House Leaders Support New Medicaid Cuts To Offset Katrina Costs
Republican leaders in Congress are preparing a package of cuts to Medicaid and other social programs to compensate for expenses related to Hurricane Katrina and to address concerns from some conservatives about the increasing budget deficit, the Boston Globe reports.
Von Eschenbach To Take Temporary Leave as NCI Director While Serving as Acting FDA Commissioner
Acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach on Friday said that he will take a temporary leave of absence as director of the National Cancer Institute to address conflict-of-interest concerns, the Washington Post reports.
Grassley Considers More Limited Version of Medicaid Bill To Help Hurricane Katrina Survivors
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Thursday said he was discussing a scaled-back version of legislation that would temporarily provide Medicaid benefits to all evacuees of Hurricane Katrina, CongressDaily reports.
Kaiser Permanente, Workers Announce Tentative Labor Contract
As expected, Kaiser Permanente on Thursday announced that its unionized workers, led by Service Employees International Union, tentatively agreed to a five-year contract covering 82,000 hospital employees at more than 400 facilities in eight states and Washington, D.C., the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Stem Cell Leaders To Discuss State of Stem Cell Research
The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine this weekend in San Francisco will host a conference intended to “create a scientific roadmap” for the state stem cell program to follow, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sacramento Bee Looks at Start of Marketing for New Medicare Rx Benefit
The Sacramento Bee on Friday examined how California residents beginning Saturday will be “inundated with letters, telephone calls and splashy brochures at their pharmacy about” the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, which begins Jan. 1, 2006.
Health Care Companies To Begin To Market Medicare Prescription Drug Plans on Saturday
Health care companies that have contracted with CMS to provide prescription drug benefits to Medicare beneficiaries can begin advertising their plans on Saturday, USA Today reports.
FDA Requires Label for ADHD Medication Strattera To Include Black Box Warning
Strattera, an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder treatment manufactured by Eli Lilly, will carry a “black box” warning based on a review of earlier clinical trials that found the drug might increase suicidal thoughts in children and adolescents, FDA and Lilly officials said Thursday, the New York Times reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Legislative Action
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday signed four health-related bills and vetoed eight.
Senate Confirms Roberts as Supreme Court Chief Justice
The Senate on Thursday approved 78-22 the nomination of 50-year-old Judge John Roberts as the Supreme Court’s 17th chief justice, and he was sworn in later in the day by Justice John Paul Stevens, the Washington Post reports.