Latest California Healthline Stories
California Could Lose About $200M Annually Under Medicare Drug Benefit
The new Medicare prescription drug benefit could cost California $215 million annually, according to an estimate by the Department of Health Services, the Sacramento Bee reports.
State Officials’ Medicaid Proposals Include Variety of Cost Curtailments
The National Governors Association and the National Conference of State Legislatures have drafted proposals that recommend ways for Congress to cut Medicaid spending by $10 billion over the next five years, a move that is called for in the fiscal year 2006 budget resolution, the New York Times reports.
Bush Has Not Proven Privatization Case to Public, Brownstein Writes
A “revolution in private-sector benefits” — in which employers are replacing programs that give defined benefits to workers and retirees with programs that provide defined contributions — indicates the steady erosion of “cradle-to-grave promises [of] … health care security that American business offered during its post-World War II zenith,” Los Angeles Times columnist Ronald Brownstein writes in an opinion piece.
Coalition Raising Funds To Extend Children’s Health Care Coverage in Sonoma County
A health care coalition on Wednesday announced a campaign to raise funds to establish Healthy Kids Sonoma County, a program that aims to extend health care coverage to Sonoma County residents younger than 19 years old who are not covered by state programs, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Committee Votes To Locate Stem Cell Research Institute Headquarters in San Francisco
The Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee on Friday voted to locate the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine headquarters in San Francisco, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt Advocates Collaboration on Health Care Information Technology Standards
Federal, state and private-sector stakeholders should work together to encourage the adoption of a national health information technology system, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said Thursday, according to a report in Technology Daily.
Medicare Drug Benefit Beholden to Special Interests, Krugman Writes
The new Medicare law is “an object lesson in how special interests hold America’s health care system hostage,” columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.
California Healthline Examines Recent Developments Related to Medicare
The following summarizes news coverage of recent developments related to Medicare.
Inland Empire Hospitals Voice Opposition to Proposed Surgical Hospital
Opponents of the proposed California Heart and Surgical Hospital in Loma Linda continue to voice their dissent before the issue is scheduled to come before the City Council on Tuesday, the San Bernardino County Sun reports.
House Bill Would Block Federal Prosecution of Medical Marijuana Use in 10 States
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill that would exempt physicians and pharmacists in states with medical marijuana laws from prosecution by the federal government, the Washington Times reports.