Latest California Healthline Stories
VA Offers Lower Prescription Drug Costs Than Medicare Discount Cards, Study Finds
The average price for a year’s supply of a prescription drug was $220 higher for people using the Medicare drug discount card than for members of a Department of Veterans Affairs health plan, according to a Families USA study released Tuesday, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Groups Criticize Proposal To Address Medicare Reimbursement Disparity Among California Counties
The San Jose Mercury News on Sunday examined criticism of the variance in Medicare reimbursements by county and an Aug. 8 proposal to change reimbursement rates in Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties.
Schwarzenegger Must Decide on Smoking-Cessation Bill by Oct. 9
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) by Oct. 9 must act on a bill that would require health insurers to cover smoking-cessation programs, including counseling, prescription patches, inhalers, nasal sprays, and over-the-counter gum and lozenges, USA Today reports.
Los Angeles County Will Reject Some Expenses Submitted by Hospital Consulting Firm
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will reject more than $300,000 of the $1.3 million in expenses Navigant Consulting has submitted related to the consulting firm’s work at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, county DHS Director Thomas Garthwaite said on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Two House Members Propose Deadline Extension for Enrollment in Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Reps. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have introduced a bill (HR 3861) that would extend from May 15, 2006, until Dec. 31, 2006, the deadline for beneficiaries to enroll in the Medicare prescription drug benefit without financial penalties, CQ HealthBeat reports.
FDA Commissioner Crawford Resigns; NCI Director Named Acting Commissioner
FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford on Friday “abruptly” resigned only two months after his confirmation to the position, the AP/Chicago Sun-Times reports.
CalPERS Forms Coalition of Health Care Purchasers To Address Costs
CalPERS officials are joining with other major health care purchasers to form a coalition that organizers hope will bolster their power to negotiate with hospitals and health insurers, the Sacramento Bee reports.
CNA Authorizes Exploration of Affiliation With AFL-CIO
Members of the California Nurses Association on Friday voted to authorize union leaders to consider affiliating with AFL-CIO, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Pfizer Official Calls for Partnerships To Promote Health, Reduce Medical Costs
Companies, employees, providers, governments and the health care industry must partner to “shift [the] focus and actions from health care spending to investing in health,” Patrick Kelly, president of the Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceutical Division, told business leaders on Thursday at a Detroit Regional Chamber conference, the Detroit Free Press reports.
New Medical Technologies Likely Will Increase Medicare Costs, Study Finds
New medical technologies will improve health care and extend lives, but they also likely will increase the cost of Medicare, according to a study published Monday on the Health Affairs Web site, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.