Latest California Healthline Stories
Molina Healthcare Decreases Full-Year Earnings Estimates by 70%, Predicts Second-Quarter Loss
Officials for Long Beach-based HMO Molina Healthcare on Wednesday announced a 70% reduction in full-year earnings estimates, in part because of increased medical costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Commission To Review Proposition 63 Funding Formula
Members of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission are scheduled to discuss on Friday the current formula for distributing Proposition 63 funds, which some counties say has yielded “disappointing” allocations that are “millions short” of the anticipated amount, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Legislators, Advocates Seek Restoration of State Funds for Health-Related Programs
Some Democratic legislators and advocates are lobbying Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to work with legislators to restore about $8 million in state funds for health and social services programs he eliminated from the fiscal year 2005-2006 state budget using the line-item veto, the Sacramento Bee reports.
PhRMA Releases Outline of Voluntary Prescription Drug Advertising Guidelines
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America on Thursday released an outline of voluntary guidelines on how drug manufacturers should advertise prescription products to consumers, the Boston Globe reports.
Rodham Clinton, Gingrich Call for Bipartisan Efforts on Health Care Reform
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Thursday “seemed very much on the same page” in their positions on health care as they appeared together at the National Press Club at a forum aimed at promoting a bipartisan health care reform, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Senate Committee Approves Bill To Legalize Reimportation of Prescription Drugs
The Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday voted 14-8 to pass a Federal Trade Commission reauthorization bill that includes an amendment under which U.S. residents could reimport lower-cost prescription drugs from other nations, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
House Hearing Considers Ways To Reverse Medicare Physician Payment Cut
House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee members at a hearing on Thursday “vowed” not to allow Medicare payments to physicians to be reduced by 4.3% in January, but it is uncertain how they will accomplish the reversal, CongressDaily reports.
Judge Cancels Hearing in Contempt Case Against Schwarzenegger, State Health Officials
Judge Judy Holzer Hersher of Sacramento Superior Court on Thursday canceled an Aug. 17 hearing that she had called earlier in the week with the intention of determining whether Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and other administration officials should be held in contempt of court for issuing emergency regulations to implement higher nurse-to-patient ratios, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
UCLA Study Shows High Rates of Obesity Among HMO Members
About 52% of California residents enrolled in private HMO plans are overweight or obese, compared with an average 54% of state residents, according to a study released on Wednesday by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
Senate Passes Bill Establishing HHS Patient Safety Database
The Senate on Thursday by voice vote approved a bill (S 544) that would establish a national patient safety database to encourage the reporting of medical errors, CQ Today reports.