Latest California Healthline Stories
Survey Finds 48% of Respondents Oppose Parental Notification Measure
Forty-eight percent of likely California voters oppose Proposition 73, a measure on the Nov. 8 special election ballot that would amend the state constitution to require health care providers to notify parents or guardians 48 hours before they perform an abortion on an unmarried minor, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey released on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Many Drew University Medical Graduates Plan To Practice in Underserved Areas
Eighty-six percent of medical students at Charles R. Drew University plan to practice medicine in medically underserved areas after graduation, according to a study that will appear in the September issue of Academic Medicine, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Proposed UnitedHealth, PacifiCare Merger Subject of Public Hearing
The first of two public hearings on UnitedHealth Group’s proposed acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems was held on Thursday, with some consumers voicing concerns to state regulators about the potential for increased premiums, reduced competition and changes to health plan benefits, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday tabled for the year a bill (SB 682) that would limit public agencies’ use of radio frequency identification devices, including use in state health benefits cards, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Zerhouni Announces Revised Ethics Rules for Agency Employees
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on Thursday announced final ethics regulations for agency employees that are designed to reduce conflicts of interest, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports.
San Luis Obispo County Healthy Kids Program To Begin To Provide Benefits Next Month
The San Luis Obispo Healthy Kids program on Sept. 1 will begin to provide health, dental and vision benefits to 118 currently uninsured county children after the program received final approval on Aug. 8, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
ADA, European Association Challenge Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome
The diagnosis “metabolic syndrome” is ill defined, relies on questionable evidence and could keep doctors from focusing on better established heart disease risks, the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes said in a joint statement in the September issue of Diabetes Care, USA Today reports.
Medicare Beneficiaries To Save $1,500 From New Prescription Drug Benefit, Study Finds
Seniors’ out-of-pocket spending on prescription drugs is expected to drop once the new Medicare drug benefit takes effect, according to a state-by-state analysis commissioned by Medicare Today, a partnership of organizations whose mission is to educate beneficiaries about the 2003 Medicare law, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Senate Republicans Debate $10B in Proposed Spending Reductions for Medicaid Program
A “fight … is emerging” among Senate Finance Committee Republicans over the “potential for cutting the growth of Medicare to reduce proposed cuts” of as much as $10 billion to Medicaid over the next five years as part of the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution, CQ Today reports.
Fresno County Releases Proposed Spending Plan for Proposition 63 Funds
Fresno County officials this week released a 133-page draft detailing a three-year spending plan for funds received under Proposition 63, which state voters approved in November 2004, the Fresno Bee reports.