Latest California Healthline Stories
Two Consumer Groups Submit Proposals for Ballot Measures To Address Prescription Drug Costs
Two consumer groups on Monday unveiled prescription drug discount proposals that would “cover more people and take a tougher stance toward drug companies” than a plan proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) last month, the Sacramento Bee reports.
CDC Might Recommend Flu Vaccinations for All U.S. Residents
CDC is considering whether to ease guidelines on who should receive a flu shot as the federal government tries to distribute a surplus of five million doses of vaccine, the Washington Post reports.
Editorials and Opinion Pieces Examine Medi-Cal Redesign, Other Health Care Proposals
Recent editorials and opinion pieces examined the year’s initial legislative proposals to reform Medi-Cal and decrease the number of state residents without health insurance.
Cost of Guarding Inmates in Private Hospitals Increasing, Mercury News Analysis Finds
The San Jose Mercury News on Saturday examined a Department of Corrections policy requiring that prison guards monitor inmates who are admitted to outside hospitals.
Wall Street Journal Features Special Report on Employee Health, Other Benefits
The Wall Street Journal on Monday featured a special report on employee benefits and their impact on business finances and management.
Almost two-thirds of individuals who took COX-2 inhibitors in 2002 had a low risk for gastrointestinal problems — the “main selling point” for the use of such medications — according to a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, USA Today reports.
Orange County Physicians Group Pledges To Acquire Tenet Hospitals
Physician and investor Kali Chaudhuri on Thursday at a public hearing said that he has agreed to back out of a deal to purchase four Orange County hospitals owned by Tenet Healthcare, the Los Angeles Times reports.
New Policy for Medi-Cal Beneficiaries Affects Access to Care in San Jose
Under a new policy at HCA’s Regional Medical Center, more than half, or about 33,000, of the Medi-Cal beneficiaries who seek care at the facility must be transferred to another hospital that will accept fee-for-service Medi-Cal beneficiaries, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Stem Cell Board To Begin Site Search This Week
A subcommittee of the board mandated by Proposition 71 to create the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine on Tuesday will meet via teleconference to begin a site-selection process for the institute, while a separate panel will begin the search for a chief executive to run the institute, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
FDA Delays Decision on Revised Application for Over-the-Counter Plan B
Barr Laboratories — which manufactures the emergency contraceptive Plan B — on Friday announced that FDA is delaying a decision on the company’s revised application to allow the pills to be sold over the counter to women ages 17 and older but to require a doctor’s prescription for women ages 16 and younger, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.