Latest California Healthline Stories
Federal Bankruptcy Court Judge Approves Plan To Reopen Santa Paula Memorial Hospital
U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robin Riblet on Wednesday authorized a plan that will allow Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, which declared bankruptcy and was forced to close in late 2003, to reopen this fall, the Ventura County Star reports.
San Diego Police Department to Receive 911 Calls From Cell Phones
The San Diego Police Department in May will begin answering emergency 911 calls from cell phones in the city, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
WSJ Examines Call by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni To Revise Agency Conflict-of-Interest Guidelines
The Wall Street Journal on Friday examined a call by NIH Director Elias Zerhouni to revise a provision in new agency conflict-of-interest guidelines that will require NIH employees to divest stock in biomedical companies.
Appeals Court Denies Schwarzenegger’s Request for Delay of Nurse Staffing Rules
The Third District Court of Appeals on Thursday denied a request by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) administration to delay a court order requiring hospitals to have at least one nurse on staff for every five patients, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Washington Post Examines Opposition to State Medicaid Accounting Practices
The Washington Post on Friday examined the Bush administration’s efforts to “clam[p] down” on accounting practices used by states to boost their federal Medicaid funding.
Stem Cell Oversight Committee Approves Interim Conflict-of-Interest Rules
The California stem cell agency’s oversight board, facing “fire for potential conflicts of interest,” on Thursday voted to restrict the investments of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine employees and to prohibit board members from receiving state funds for research, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Senators, Public Health Groups Ask FDA To Restrict Use of Antibiotics in Animals
A coalition of public health and environmental groups on Thursday petitioned FDA to outlaw the use of seven classes of antibiotics as growth agents in livestock, the Washington Post reports.
Assembly Rejects Bill That Would Have Limited Obesity-Related Lawsuits Against the Food Industry
The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Tuesday voted 4-3 to reject a bill (AB 173) sponsored by Assembly member Guy Houston (R-Livermore) that would have prevented consumers who claim that food products contributed to obesity-related health problems from filing lawsuits against restaurants, food manufacturers and food distributors, the Stockton Record reports.
Schwarzenegger Delays Proposal To Reform State Pension System
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday delayed until at least June 2006 a proposal to privatize the pensions of public employees, a reversal considered a “victory for his opponents,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The Bush administration, in a memorandum to state officials, has said that states cannot automatically enroll low-income Medicare beneficiaries in specific prescription drug plans when the new prescription drug benefit takes effect in 2006 because the practice would violate “beneficiaries’ freedom of choice and undermin[e] competition among insurers,” the New York Times reports.