Latest California Healthline Stories
Re-enrolling children whose Medi-Cal benefits have been eliminated because of untimely or incomplete paperwork cost the state more than $120 million over three years, according to a study by the California Endowment, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Assembly Committee Approves Bill That Would Allow Groups To Distribute Condoms in Prisons
The Assembly Public Safety Committee on Tuesday voted 4-2 to approve a bill (AB 1677) that would allow not-for-profit or public health organizations to distribute condoms, dental dams or other sex-related protective devices to the state prison inmates, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Nunez Clarifies Comments on Workers’ Compensation Rules, Budget Negotiations
Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles) issued a “retreat” from a “bold statement” he made on Tuesday when he said that he and some Democratic colleagues planned to delay state budget negotiations unless Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) restored some benefits to workers’ compensation claimants, the Los Angeles Times reports.
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan Calls for New Focus on Long-Term Care
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan on Wednesday at a meeting with health policy experts called for a new focus on long-term care, CongressDaily reports.
San Francisco Considers Proposal To Require Businesses To Provide Health Benefits
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Wednesday discussed a proposal for an ordinance to require businesses in San Francisco to provide health insurance to employees, the San Francisco Chronicle.
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Security Rule To Take Effect
Physicians, hospitals, insurance companies and other health professionals on Thursday will be required to be in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act security rule, the Wall Street Journal reports.
USA Today Examines Policies Used by Medicare To Determine Coverage for New Treatments
USA Today on Thursday examined “an ongoing dilemma for Medicare: whether to pay for a treatment when data on its effectiveness are uncertain or show it to be of limited value.”
Groups Launch Regional Health Information Organization
Several California health care organizations on Tuesday launched the California Regional Health Information Organization to electronically link health care providers statewide, Health Data Management reports.
Obesity Causes Fewer Deaths Than Previously Estimated, CDC Analysis Finds
Obesity is responsible for 112,000 deaths annually in the United States, and overweight people might live longer than people classified as being of normal weight, according to a CDC and National Cancer Institute study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Wall Street Journal reports.
CMS Responds to Criticism About Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Education Efforts
CMS is making full use of the $1 billion allocated to the agency to implement the new Medicare law and is working to educate beneficiaries about the new prescription drug benefit, CMS Deputy Administrator Leslie Norwalk said on Tuesday, CQ HealthBeat reports.