Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday told party members that Democratic amendments to the class-action lawsuit reform bill (S 5) likely will not pass, Roll Call reports.
Bush Administration Officials Call for Revisions to Project BioShield at Senate Hearing
Bush administration officials on Tuesday told members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness that Project BioShield requires revisions, CQ Today reports.
Health Net Reports Loss for Fourth Quarter
Woodland Hills-based Health Net reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $85.6 million, or 77 cents per share, down from net income of $89.3 million, or 77 cents per share, in the fourth quarter of 2003, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Annual U.S. Health Care Spending Has Increased by $621 Billion Since 2000, Report Says
Health care spending in the United States has increased by $621 billion since 2000 to $1.9 trillion this year, and current expenditures for health care services account for about 24% of the increase in the gross domestic product between 2000 and 2005, according to a report by researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Proposal Would Require Disclosure of Names of Nursing Home Residents With Histories of Sex Offenses
Assembly member Juan Vargas (D-Chula Vista) on Thursday introduced legislation (AB 217) that would require the names of all nursing home residents with histories as sex offenders to be disclosed to nursing home staff and residents, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Recommendations on Breast Feeding
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released its “strongest set of recommendations ever” advising women to breast feed exclusively for six months and sleep “in proximity” to the babies to make feeding easier, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Consumers Union Asks Hospitals To Report Patient Infections
Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, has asked states to require hospitals to make public data on patients who develop infections during their stays, but “medical officials have been reluctant to do so out of concerns over cost and whether publicly releasing the data will fix the problem,” the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Some Workers’ Compensation Claimants Say Treatment Guidelines Limit Care Options
Some injured workers say new rules that allow workers’ compensation insurers to evaluate treatment requests based on a series of guidelines by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine are preventing them from receiving needed care, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sweet Drinks May Increase Obesity Risk for Preschoolers, Study Finds
Overweight preschoolers who drink sweet drinks — including fruit drinks with no added sugar — are more likely to “becom[e] seriously overweight a year later,” although the drinks appear to have little significant effect on children of normal weight, according to a CDC study published in the February issue of Pediatrics, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
The First 5 Commission of San Diego County on Friday denied Palomar Pomerado Health’s request for a $6.5 million grant that would have been used to create “children-friendly” urgent care satellite health centers in Rancho Penasquitos and Ramona, according to a Palomar Pomerado official, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.