Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

Prescription Drug Prices Increased by 5.5% in First Half of 2005, Data Indicate

Prescription drug prices increased by 5.5% in the first half of 2005, about the same rate that they increased in the first half of 2004, according to data recently released by New York-based health care marketing and research company Delta Marketing Dynamics, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Nationwide Health Information Technology Network Would Require $156B Initial Investment, Study Finds

President Bush’s proposal to create a “model” national health information network would cost more than $156 billion in initial capital investment and $48 billion in annual operating costs over the next five years, according to a study published in the Aug. 2 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, CQ HealthBeat reports.

Santa Clara County Official Critical of Federal Medi-Cal Agreement

“[H]ospitals, counties, legislators and health care advocates do not agree” with Health and Human Service Agency Secretary Kim Belshé’s statements about an agreement with the federal government for Medi-Cal funding, Robert Sillen, the executive director of the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System, writes in response to a July 22 San Jose Mercury News opinion piece by Belshé.

Patient Mortality Rates Decrease at King/Drew Medical Center, But Some Issues Remain, Report Finds

The number of deaths at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center has fallen to a rate “in line with national averages,” since officials closed the hospital’s trauma center six months ago, according to a report released this week by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Wall Street Journal Examines Profitable South Dakota Specialty Hospital

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday profiled a South Dakota neurosurgeon who founded a specialty hospital in 1997 and made $9 million when it went public last year.

State Disputes Some Findings of DOJ Report on Mental Hospitals

Federal inspectors in a report posted online last week did not include “more current information” about conditions at state mental hospitals, Department of Mental Health Director Stephen Mayberg said in an interview on Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports.

PacifiCare Executives Could Receive About $230M From UnitedHealth Merger

Thirty-nine PacifiCare Health Systems executives would share nearly $230 million if the company is acquired by UnitedHealth Group, according to documents filed with the state on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.