Latest California Healthline Stories
Congress Must Address Future Medicare Funding Issues, Federal Reserve Chair Says
Congress should work to address future funding problems in Social Security, as well as “far larger shortfalls in Medicare,” Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan said on Thursday at a House committee hearing, USA Today reports.
Officials for eight hotels negotiating jointly as the Los Angeles Hotel Employer’s Council said they would no longer charge union workers $10 per week for health insurance premiums, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Federal Criminal Case Against Tenet Healthcare Subsidiary Over Alleged Kickbacks Ends in Mistrial
A federal criminal trial that alleges Tenet HealthSystem Hospitals — a Tenet Healthcare subsidiary — and an Alvarado Hospital Medical Center administrator paid illegal kickbacks to physician groups to increase patient referrals and revenue has ended in a mistrial, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Merck Might Reintroduce COX-2 Inhibitor Vioxx to Market, Company Official Says
A senior Merck official on Thursday at an FDA advisory committee meeting said that the company might return the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx to the market in the event the agency determines that the benefits of all COX-2 inhibitors outweigh the safety risks, the Wall Street Journal reports.
FDA Safety Official Testifies COX-2 Inhibitor Cardiovascular Risks Comparable to Those of Smoking
COX-2 inhibitors increase risk for cardiovascular events at about the same rate as cigarette smoking, hypertension and diabetes, FDA Office of Drug Safety Officer David Graham told an agency advisory committee on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
FDA Advisory Committee Meetings on Safety of COX-2 Inhibitors Begin
Merck and Pfizer executives on Wednesday, in the first of three days of meetings on COX-2 inhibitors held by the FDA arthritis and drug safety and risk management advisory committee, provided different opinions on the cause of the increased risk for heart attack and stroke associated with the COX-2 inhibitor Vioxx, which Merck withdrew from the market in September 2004, the Wall Street Journal reports.
State Supreme Court Agrees To Review Class-Action Tobacco Case Filed on Behalf of Minors
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday announced that it would review a class-action lawsuit filed by young smokers against tobacco companies alleging that the companies violated state consumer-protection laws by directing cigarette advertisements at minors, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Los Angeles Mayoral Candidate Villaraigosa Pledges To Address ‘Health Care Crisis’
Los Angeles City Council member Antonio Villaraigosa, a candidate in the March 8 Los Angeles mayoral election, on Wednesday said that he would work to reduce prescription drug costs and expand health care coverage to all newborns, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Expected to Withdraw Plan To Eliminate, Consolidate Some State Boards
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday in a letter to the Little Hoover Commission will withdraw his plan to eliminate 88 state regulatory boards and commissions, including some health-related bodies, sources close to the governor said, the Sacramento Bee reports.
CalPERS Approves Move To Negotiate Prices With Hospitals Individually
CalPERS on Monday approved a measure to negotiate separate prices at individual hospitals rather than accept uniform prices for all facilities owned by the same company, the Sacramento Bee reports.