Latest California Healthline Stories
Schwarzenegger Announces Emergency Rules To Protect Outdoor Workers from Heat-Related Illnesses
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday at a Capitol news conference announced a bipartisan agreement on emergency regulations to protect outdoor workers from heat-related illnesses, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Kaiser Permanente EHR System Could Be Model for Other Providers, Brailer Says
National Health IT Coordinator Dr. David Brailer on encouraged health care providers to replicate Kaiser Permanente’s new $3.3 billion electronic health records system, the Oakland Tribune reports.
8.4M U.S. Children Lacked Health Coverage in 2003, Study Finds
The number of uninsured U.S. children decreased by about two million to 8.4 million between 1998 and 2003, and 70% of those children qualified for public health insurance programs such as Medicaid or SCHIP but were not enrolled, according to a study released on Tuesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Hospital in Los Angeles County Considers Closing Emergency Department
Downey Regional Medical Center has informed Los Angeles County officials that it might close its emergency department in part because of the cost of treating the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.
USA Today Examines Effect of Welfare Reform on Medicaid Enrollment
USA Today on Tuesday examined the increase in Medicaid enrollment since 1997, a trend that “is an aftershock of welfare reform, which … has pushed individuals off welfare and into the work force.”
CMA To Reconsider Brief in Support of Physicians Declining To Provide Fertility Treatment
California Medical Association officials are expected to discuss on Monday the potential withdrawal of the group’s appellate court brief supporting the position of physicians at the North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group who cited religious beliefs in declining to artificially inseminate a lesbian woman, according to a CMA spokesperson, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Garamendi To Issue Report on Health Savings Accounts, Association Health Plans
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) on Wednesday plans to issue a report that criticizes health savings accounts and other “consumer-driven” health plans as contributors to increased health care costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bush Reiterates Threat To Veto Stem Cell Research Legislation
President Bush on Tuesday restated his intention to veto a bill (HR 810/S 471) that would expand federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research despite Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-Tenn.) recent endorsement of the measure, the Des Moines Register reports.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Reject Property Tax Increase for Trauma Care Funding
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a proposal to increase property tax assessments by a quarter of a cent to help pay for new trauma care centers and other “urgent health care needs” in the Antelope and San Gabriel valleys, the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The board also approved $500,000 to fund a needle-exchange plan.
Construction at LAX Could Increase Cancer Risk for Surrounding Communities, Report Says
A planned construction project to move the southernmost runway at Los Angeles International Airport 55 feet to reduce risk of airplane collisions will increase nearby residents’ risk of cancer and exposure to noise during the eight months of construction, an environmental impact report released Monday found, the Los Angeles Times reports.