Latest California Healthline Stories
Opinion Pieces, Editorial Address California Stem Cell Institute
Three opinion pieces and one editorial recently addressed the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
Former CIA Director Calls for All U.S. Residents To Receive Smallpox Vaccine
All U.S. residents should receive vaccinations for smallpox, former CIA Director John Deutch testified on Wednesday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Appeals Accreditation Denials
Alta Bates Summit Medical Center on Thursday appealed to a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations review panel in Chicago to reverse a preliminary denial of accreditation JCAHO issued the hospital in February, the Contra Costa Times reports.
The health care cause being promoted by the political “odd couple” of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is “actually a very good one — the need to drag the health care industry out of the dark ages of scribbled notes and into the modern world of electronic record-keeping,” a New York Times editorial states.
FBI Appears To Have Improperly Used Funds for Health Care Fraud Investigations, GAO Report Says
FBI over the past four years appears to have improperly used funds allocated for health care fraud investigations for other purposes, such as counterterrorism, according to a Government Accountability Office report scheduled for release this week, the New York Times reports.
Department of Managed Health Care Hearing Addresses Blue Cross Premium Increases
The Department of Managed Health Care on Friday held a hearing to address concerns about whether Blue Cross of California raised premiums to finance the merger of Blue Cross parent organization WellPoint Health Networks with Anthem, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter informing R.J. Reynolds Tobacco that states might sue the cigarette maker over its claims that Eclipse brand cigarettes present fewer health risks than regular cigarettes, the AP/Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Medicare Proposes Reimbursements To Skilled Nursing Facilities Remain The Same in Fiscal Year 2006
CMS on Friday proposed new Medicare payment rates for skilled nursing facilities that would keep fiscal year 2006 payments at about the same level as FY 2005, easing concerns from nursing home administrators that the Bush administration would cut payments by 10%, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Senate Reportedly Supports Disclosure of Government-Produced Video News Releases
There is a large amount of support in the Senate for a permanent requirement that would ask federal agencies to disclose the source of government-funded prepackaged news stories, according to Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who said that he would support such a requirement, the Washington Post reports.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has filed a lawsuit in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging that a proposed ballot measure addressing prescription drug costs violates the state constitution, the Los Angeles Times reports.