Latest California Healthline Stories
Court Makes Restraining Order on Anti-Abortion Protests at Clinic Permanent
The Sacramento Superior Court on Friday made permanent a temporary restraining order on anti-abortion protests outside a Sacramento reproductive health clinic and expanded the number of clinics covered by the order, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Audit Raises Billing, Staffing Issues by Navigant at King/Drew Medical Center
Navigant Consulting since November 2004 has billed the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services for full monthly payments for its work at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, despite some staff being off-site or on vacation, according to an audit by the county auditor-controller released Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Endorses Proposed Medicare Prescription Drug Surveillance System
FDA on Monday endorsed a proposal to establish a post-market surveillance system for prescription drugs that would use billing data and health care information collected from Medicare beneficiaries, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Immigrants Accounted for 26% of Uninsured U.S. Residents in 2003, Study Finds
Immigrants accounted for 26% — or 11.6 million people — of the nation’s uninsured in 2003, a 70% increase from 1994, according to a study released Monday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Democrats Plan To Vote on FY 2005-2006 State Budget Proposal
Democratic legislators said they plan to call a vote on Wednesday on a fiscal year 2005-2006 state budget agreement that restores the state’s contribution to wages for in-home care service workers for elderly residents and those with disabilities, the Sacramento Bee reports.
More Than 1M U.S. Residents HIV-Positive; Half of Cases in African Americans, CDC Says
About 1.1 million people living in the United States are HIV-positive — the highest number ever recorded in the country — and nearly half of those cases are among African Americans, CDC officials said on Monday at the 2005 National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Group Files Lawsuit Against Stem Cell Agency
A group that opposes abortion rights on Monday amended a lawsuit it filed last week against the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, alleging that the use of human embryos for stem cell research violates the embryos’ constitutional rights, the Sacramento Bee reports.
CalPERS Recommendations, Vote on 2006 HMO Contracts Scheduled for This Week
The CalPERS health committee on Tuesday will recommend changes to its 2006 HMO contracts, preceding a Wednesday vote by the full CalPERS board on the committee’s recommendations, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Smith Declines Offer From Frist To Join Medicaid Study Commission
Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), who in April spearheaded the effort to assemble a commission to study Medicaid before making any program funding cuts, has declined an invitation from Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) to participate in the commission, The Hill reports.
House Approves ‘Patient Navigator’ Bill To Help Uninsured U.S. Residents Locate Coverage
The House on Monday passed a bill (HR 1812) that would establish a “patient navigator” system to help uninsured patients with chronic illnesses make medical decisions, CQ Today reports.