Latest California Healthline Stories
Merced County Supervisors Approve 45-Day Ban on New Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
The Merced County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a 45-day emergency ordinance to ban new medical marijuana dispensaries from opening, the Merced Sun-Star reports.
House Committee Holds First Hearing on Not-For-Profit Hospitals
Congress should look at what taxpayers are “getting in return for the tens of billion of dollars per year” in tax subsidies that not-for-profit hospitals receive because of their status as charitable organizations, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) said Thursday at the committee’s first hearing on the issue, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Ortiz Agrees To Amend Measure To Revise Proposition 71
Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) on Thursday agreed to make changes to her proposed amendment (SCA 13) to the state constitution that would revise Proposition 71, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday ordered state health officials not to provide erectile dysfunction drugs such as Viagra to known sex offenders who are Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Alameda County Medical Center Votes To Outsource Psychiatric Services
The Alameda County Medical Center Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 8-2 with one abstention to contract out psychiatry services at John George Psychiatric Pavilion, citing a need to enhance the quality of patient care and reduce costs, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Democrats Will Not Participate in Medicaid Study Commission
Democratic congressional leaders on Thursday announced that they will not participate in a new Medicaid study commission on which lawmakers are given only an advisory role, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
CDC Recommends Expanding Use of Meningitis Vaccine
CDC on Thursday recommended that all children ages 11 and 12, as well as high school and college freshmen, receive Sanofi Pasteur’s meningitis vaccine Menactra, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Emergency Department Visits Reach Record Number in 2003, CDC Says
The number of hospital emergency department visits reached a record high of almost 114 million in 2003, and the number of EDs decreased by 14% between 1993 and 2003, according to a CDC report released on Thursday, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Tentative Ruling States That Charges Against 12 Nursing Home Workers Are Improper
A three-judge panel of the San Diego Superior Court appellate division on Friday tentatively ruled that the state Attorney General’s Office improperly filed elder abuse charges against 12 licensed vocational nurses and certified nursing assistants at SunBridge Care & Rehabilitation for Escondido-East under Health and Safety Code regulations for nursing homes, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday asked President Bush to reconsider his veto threat of a bill (S 471/HR 810) that would loosen restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, but Bush refused, saying his position on the issue is “very clear,” the Washington Times reports.