Latest California Healthline Stories
Twelve BlueCross BlueShield Association insurance plans on Thursday filed a civil lawsuit against nine surgery clinics in California, as well as 21 doctors and 13 owners, employers or administrators of the clinics, alleging their involvement in “an elaborate insurance scheme” involving thousands of patients from 47 states and more than $1 billion in fraudulent insurance claims, the New York Times reports.
Hospitalizations From Food-Borne Illnesses Decline in Los Angeles County
Hospitalizations in Los Angeles County for the most common food-borne illnesses declined by 13.1% from 1993 to 2000, in part because of a restaurant-grading system instituted in 1998 in the county, according to a study in the March issue of Journal of Environmental Health, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The federal government should focus on the development of national standards for health care information technology systems because the promotion of “interoperability” would encourage health care providers to implement such systems more than federal grants or other incentives, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said last week in a speech to America’s Health Insurance Plans, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Increased Cost Estimates Could Cause Laguna Honda Construction To Be Scaled Back
San Francisco officials last week adjusted a proposal on the renovation of city-owned Laguna Honda Hospital to include three new buildings and 780 additional beds for $483 million, compared with the original $400 million proposal that included four new buildings with 1,200 skilled-nursing beds, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Many States Face Problems With Cost of Health Care for Children With Rare Illnesses
Many states are struggling to continue to pay for treatment of people with rare terminal and incurable illnesses, as many such children are living longer with conditions that “once were often fatal by adolescence,” the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
California Healthline Highlights Recent Nursing News
Palomar Pomerado Health’s board of directors on Monday will vote on a $2.5 million proposal to create the Palomar Pomerado Health Institute of Nursing and Education in San Marcos, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Likelihood of Congressional Action This Year on Issue of Prescription Drug Spending Examined
Gannett/Detroit News on Monday examined the belief of many health care experts that Congress will not address prescription drug spending this session, in large part because of the “wariness of Republican leaders to reopen the Medicare drug benefit that was so difficult to pass.”
Prescription drug side effects and related health problems reported to FDA reached a record high in 2004, according to agency estimates, USA Today reports.
PhRMA Support of California Rx Ballot Measure Examined
The San Jose Mercury News on Saturday examined efforts by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America in support of a ballot measure based on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) proposed California Rx plan, which would provide discounts on prescription drugs to eligible state residents.
Senate Budget Committee Approves Budget Resolution; Moves to Full Senate
The Senate Budget Committee on Thursday passed a fiscal year 2006 budget resolution along party lines with “no substantive amendments,” the New York Times reports.