Latest California Healthline Stories
Support for Three Health-Related Ballot Measures Exceeds Opposition
Measures to address prescription drug prices are supported by “substantial margins” of California voters and a measure requiring parental notification for minors seeking abortions is ahead by “a relatively slight five-point margin,” according to a Field Poll released Wednesday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Consider Legal Options for Preserving VA Services
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 5-0 to consider legal options for keeping the U.S. Veterans Administration complex in West Los Angeles reserved for veterans’ services and burial grounds, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Articles, Opinion Pieces Examine Developments in Health Care Information Technology
Several newspapers on Tuesday published articles and opinion pieces related to developments in health care information technology.
Schwarzenegger Appoints Members of Commission To Implement Proposition 63
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Tuesday announced appointments to the 12-member Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.
AMA To Commission Study on Direct-To-Consumer Drug Ads
American Medical Association delegates at the organization’s annual meeting in Chicago on Tuesday voted not to support limits on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertisements until further study has been conducted, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports
Union, San Francisco Officials Reach Agreement on Nurse Labor Deal
San Francisco officials and union leaders on Tuesday proposed a $20 million labor agreement intended to help recruit and retain nurses by offering higher pay, larger signing bonuses and nurse-to-patient staffing ratios higher than those mandated by the state, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Stem Cell Subcommittee Recommends More Stringent Conflict-Of-Interest Rules
A subcommittee of the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee on Monday recommended that board members be required to divest or place in blind trusts investments in companies that spend more than 5% of their budgets on stem cell research, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Medicare Overpaid Chiropractors by Nearly $285M in 2001, OIG Report Says
Medicare in 2001 reimbursed chiropractors for nearly $285 million in services that “should not have been billed to Medicare,” an HHS Office of Inspector General report released Tuesday said, the AP/Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Experts Question Compulsory Health Coverage Plan Proposed by Massachusetts Governor
A proposal announced on Tuesday by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) that would make health insurance compulsory “might cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than state taxpayers currently provide for government health coverage,” according to some health care experts, the Boston Globe reports.
PhRMA Launches Web Site on Risks of Prescription Drug Reimportation
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has launched a Web site to provide consumers with information that indicates “opening the U.S. borders to foreign drugs is risky and unsafe,” CQ HealthBeat reports.