Latest California Healthline Stories
The California Highway Patrol in an Aug. 22 memo directed officers not to cite motorists for possession of marijuana if they have a recommendation for the substance signed by a physician or a government-issued medical marijuana patient identification card, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Most Beneficiaries To Have Access to Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Plans With $20 Premiums
Medicare beneficiaries in all states except Alaska will have access to at least one stand-alone prescription drug plans with monthly premiums of $20 or less under the new prescription drug benefit, CMS officials said last week, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Federal Officials Assess Medical Needs in the Wake of Hurricane Katrina
CDC Director Julie Gerberding on Sunday met with federal health officials and medical experts in New Orleans to assess the risk of disease outbreak and environmental health threats at shelters set up to house those affected by Hurricane Katrina, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Judge Denies Court Order Request in San Diego County Medical Services Case
San Diego Superior Court Judge Ronald Styn on Aug. 26 denied a request for a court order that would have barred San Diego County Medical Services from denying medical coverage to residents because of their income level, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Eisenhower Medical Center settles Medicare fraud case; Burlingame hospital authority approves plans for Sutter to build new facility
California Will Have Lowest Average Monthly Premiums for Medicare Drug Benefit, CMS Says
California will have the lowest average monthly premiums in the nation for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit, CMS officials announced on Aug. 29, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
FDA Approves GSK Flu Vaccine, Says Chiron Making Progress
FDA on Wednesday approved GlaxoSmithKline’s Fluarix, which will become the third flu vaccine available on the U.S. market, and said Chiron has made progress toward correcting manufacturing problems that prevented it from distributing vaccine last year, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Federal Medicaid Commission Releases Reform Recommendations
The federal Medicaid commission charged with recommending short- and long-term reforms to the program on Thursday released to Congress its proposals, which it said would reduce Medicaid spending growth by $11 billion over the next five years, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Rate of Uninsured U.S. Residents Remained at About 15.7% Between 2003, 2004, Census Data Indicate
The number of uninsured people in the U.S. increased by 800,000, to 45.8 million people, in 2004, but the percentage of uninsured remained unchanged from 2003 at 15.7%, according to the Census Bureau’s annual report on poverty, health insurance and income, the Detroit Free Press reports.
DHS Mails Letters Informing Dual Eligibles of Change in Drug Coverage
The Department of Health Services last week completed a mailing of letters to notify 937,000 beneficiaries who are dually eligible for Medi-Cal and Medicare that their prescription drug coverage will be shifted from Medi-Cal to Medicare beginning Jan. 1, 2006, the Sacramento Bee reports.