Latest California Healthline Stories
Some Hospitals Pursue Weight-Loss Surgeries as Source of Revenue
The Los Angeles Times on Tuesday examined efforts by some hospitals to attract weight-loss surgery patients as a “welcome source of revenue” at a time when one-third of U.S. hospitals are losing money.
More California Residents Lack Access to Sufficient Food, Study Finds
More than 2.9 million low-income adults in California did not always have access to enough food to stay healthy in 2003, according to a report published by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Lawmakers To Find $900M in Federal Budget for Implementation of New Medicare Law
When the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee convenes on Thursday to consider a $142.5 billion fiscal year 2006 budget proposal, lawmakers will face the challenge of finding about $890 million to fund implementation of the 2003 Medicare law while enacting cuts to other social programs, CongressDaily reports.
Federal Judge Advances Court Date To Consider Placing State Prison Medical System in Receivership
U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, presiding over a 2002 court order requiring California to provide adequate prison health care by 2008, on Tuesday issued an order advancing to June 30 a court date to hear oral arguments on whether the California prison medical system should be placed in receivership, nearly two weeks earlier than planned, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Judge’s Final Ruling Upholds New Nurse Staffing Ratio Rules
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Judy Holzer Hersher on Tuesday issued a final ruling barring the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) from delaying the implementation of state nurse staffing rules through an emergency order, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Cities Must Decide Whether To Continue Moratoria on Marijuana Dispensaries
City officials must decide whether to extend moratoria on opening new medical marijuana dispensaries after a U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday that the federal government can prohibit and prosecute possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
UnitedHealth Partners with AARP on Drug Plan for Seniors Under Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
UnitedHealth Group on Monday announced that it has agreed to partner with AARP to offer an AARP-branded prescription drug discount benefit when the Medicare prescription drug benefit begins in 2006, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
Report Calls for Changes to Orange County Services for Pregnant Women Who Use Alcohol, Illicit Drugs
Orange County should overhaul its system of addressing substance-abuse problems among pregnant women, in part because the current system is based on outdated information, according to a county grand jury report released on Monday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
New FDA Prescription Drug Safety Oversight Board Criticized by Agency Official, Sen. Grassley
The new FDA Drug Safety Oversight Board will not increase the ability of the agency to remove unsafe prescription drugs from the market and could impede efforts to make medications safer, according to FDA safety officer David Graham and Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the Washington Post reports.
Supreme Court Decision on Medical Marijuana Raises Questions
The U.S. Supreme Court decision on Monday that the federal government has the authority to prohibit and prosecute the possession and use of marijuana for medical purposes “may have raised more questions than it answered,” according to the Christian Science Monitor.