Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves $145.7B Fiscal Year 2006 Labor-HHS-Education Bill
Members of the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 27-0 to approve the Labor-HHS-Education fiscal year 2006 appropriations bill (HR 3010), CQ Today reports.
Groups Threaten Lawsuit Over Suspension of Medical Marijuana ID Card Program
The Drug Policy Alliance and the American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday sent a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) threatening a lawsuit against the state if the recently suspended medical marijuana identification card program is not reinstated by close of business on July 19, the Oakland Tribune reports.
PacifiCare To Launch Fee-For-Service Medicare Advantage Plans
Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems on Thursday announced that it has received CMS approval to sell new fee-for-service Medicare Advantage plans in 16 states, including California, the Orange County Register reports.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Releases Letter on NIH Ethics Review
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Rep. John Dingle (D-Mich.) on Thursday released a letter to the committee from NIH Director Elias Zerhouni about NIH scientists’ compliance with department ethics rules, the New York Times reports.
Hospital Officials Voice Skepticism About Federal Medi-Cal Agreement
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) agreement with federal Medicaid officials to rework the Medi-Cal program “could leave many hospitals critically short of cash,” according to hospital officials who attended a legislative hearing on Wednesday, the Stockton Record reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Hospital News
Brief reports on California hospital news: Mendocino Community Health Clinics reaches agreement with DHS; Alameda County Medical Center to extend contract with consultants
UCI Medical Center Announces Plans To Withdraw from CalOPTIMA Network
University of California-Irvine Medical Center officials notified CalOPTIMA, the Medi-Cal administrator in Orange County, that after Dec. 31 it will no longer serve as a primary provider of hospital services in the agency’s managed care system because of “growing financial losses,” the Orange County Register reports.
State Shows Decline in Autism Diagnosis Rates, Possible Sign of Nationwide Drop
The number of newly diagnosed autism cases reported in California has evened out and might have begun to decline, according to data from the Department of Developmental Services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Line-Item Veto Ends Waiting List for Program To Provide Prostate Cancer Treatment
A waiting list for treatment through the Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with Prostate Cancer will be eliminated after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday used the line-item veto option to cut $3 million in state funding for the program, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Group Petitions FDA To Place Warning Labels on Soft Drinks, Other Sugary Beverages
The Center for Science in the Public Interest on Wednesday petitioned FDA to put “tobacco-style labels” on beverages that contain more than 13 grams of sugar per 12-ounce serving, the Wall Street Journal reports.