Latest California Healthline Stories
State Supreme Court Rules That Hospitals Cannot Put Liens on Settlements of Some Insured Patients
Hospitals that accept a patient’s insurance as “payment in full” cannot put a lien on any money an injured patient receives in a settlement with the party who caused the injury, the state Supreme Court ruled Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
New York Times Examines Potential Remedies in Justice Department Lawsuit Against Tobacco Companies
The New York Times on Saturday examined how the increased legal costs of a Department of Justice civil racketeering lawsuit against several large U.S. tobacco companies — “one of the most costly civil cases ever prosecuted” by DOJ — is “raising questions about what the government might gain with a victory.”
American Indian Firm Settle Workers’ Compensation Suit Against State
Blue Lake Rancheria of Humboldt County and its Mainstay Business Solutions subsidiary have agreed to waive sovereign immunity claims and create a self-insurance program to pay workers’ compensation costs as part of a settlement with the state, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Tri-City Healthcare District Negotiating Bond Proposal for Construction Costs
Officials for Tri-City Healthcare District have confirmed that they plan to ask voters to approve a bond measure to fund construction projects to expand facilities and help them comply with state seismic rules, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Children’s Advocates Rally for Measure That Supports Expanding Health Coverage
Some state legislators and community activists on Friday rallied in support of a bill (AB 772) by Assembly member Wilma Chan (D-Oakland) that pledges the Legislature’s support of expanding health care coverage to children under age 21, regardless of their citizenship status, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Los Angeles Times Looks at Financial Effects of Medical Costs
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the increasing number of U.S. residents who are “drastically altering their lives simply to hold on to their [health] insurance” as employers shift more costs to workers.
Sen. Jeff Denham (R-Merced) has proposed legislation (SB 235) that would “lower [the] threshold” for prosecuting HIV-positive people who knowingly expose partners without informing the partner of their HIV status, the Sacramento Bee reports.
New York Times Examines Planned Physician Payment Reductions in Medicare
The New York Times on Monday examined how doctors “are mobilizing a nationwide lobbying campaign to stave off cuts in their Medicare fees.”
Los Angeles Times Examines Cities’ Efforts To Regulate, Ban Medical Marijuana Clubs
The Los Angeles Times on Saturday examined how some cities throughout the state are taking steps to prevent new medical marijuana clubs from opening as officials work to devise ways to regulate the clubs.
Senior NIH Official Resigns, Citing New Conflict-Of-Interest Policy
James Battey, chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force and director of the NIH National Institute on Deafness, recently announced that he will retire in September, saying that the agency’s new conflict-of-interest rules posed an “insurmountable problem” for him, the Washington Post reports.