Latest California Healthline Stories
Two Lawmakers Ask NIH Director Elias Zerhouni To Revise Agency Conflict-of-Interest Guidelines
Reps. Tom Davis (R-Va.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) late last week urged NIH Director Elias Zerhouni to delay for 90 days the implementation of new rules intended to minimize conflicts of interest among NIH employees, the Washington Post reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Investigates Medicare Fraud in Bay Area
Dozens of San Francisco senior citizens “and perhaps hundreds of others” have participated in operations “that may have cost [Medicare] millions of dollars in the Bay Area,” according to a San Francisco Chronicle investigation on Medicare fraud.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Friday referred to the HHS Office of Inspector General an investigation into allegations made by an anonymous FDA employee about Lester Crawford, acting commissioner of the agency and nominee for permanent commissioner, the Washington Post reports.
Health Savings Accounts Might Reduce Health Care Spending, Not Number of Uninsured, Report Finds
Health savings accounts might produce a moderate reduction in national health spending but “are not likely to make a big difference in the number of uninsured” U.S. residents, according to a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Group Says It Has Enough Signatures To Qualify Prescription Drug Measure for Next Statewide Ballot
The Alliance for a Better California on Thursday announced that it has “more than enough” signatures to qualify its proposal to address prescription drug costs for the next statewide ballot, the Sacramento Bee reports.
A group of six Republican lawmakers on Wednesday asked Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez (D-Los Angeles) and Senate President Pro Tempore Don Perata (D-Oakland) to convene hearings to examine the inability of school districts to afford the cost of health benefits for retirees, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Federal Judge Removes FDA Ban on Lower Doses of Ephedra
U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell on Thursday removed the FDA ban on dietary supplements that contain lower doses of ephedra because the agency did not have adequate evidence to prove the safety risks of such products, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Senate Committee Approves Legislation To Address State Workers’ Compensation Insurance System
The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on Wednesday voted 5-3 to approve a bill (SB 538) that would require new medical provider networks and health care organization to be evaluated on their ability to provide adequate treatment to injured workers, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Contra Costa County Officials Discuss Allocation Options for Mental Health Funding
The Contra Costa Mental Health Commission last week held its fifth of six scheduled meetings to discuss ideas for using mental health funding provided by Proposition 63, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Report Critical of Quality of Care at State Prison
A court-appointed panel of medical experts reported that conditions at San Quentin State Prison “demonstrate multiple instances of incompetence, indifference, cruelty and neglect” in providing health care to inmates at the prison, the San Jose Mercury News reports.