Latest California Healthline Stories
Klein Says Stem Cell Oversight Committee Will Not Award Grants Until Research Guidelines Adopted
Independent Citizens Oversight Committee Chair Robert Klein on Tuesday said that the committee will not begin awarding grants until the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine created by Proposition 71 has adopted research guidelines, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Wednesday delivered what was “billed as a major address on his party’s future,” advocating what he called a progressive agenda that includes expanding Medicare “over the next decade to cover every citizen” from birth to death, the Washington Post reports.
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission Recommends Pay-for-Performance System
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission on Wednesday voted to approve a series of recommendations to Congress that include instituting Medicare’s first pay-for-performance incentives for providers and reducing reimbursements to hospitals by market basket minus 0.4 percentage points in 2006, CQ HealthBeat reports.
Contra Costa County Expects $200,000 From State To Plan for Proposition 63 Implementation
Contra Costa County expects to receive about $200,000 from the state for the county’s planning process for Proposition 63, which raises the state’s personal income tax by 1% on annual incomes that exceed $1 million to fund mental health services, the Contra Costa Times reports.
High Consumption of Red Meat Can Increase Risk for Certain Cancers, Study Finds
Long-term, daily consumption of two to three ounces of red meat could increase risk for distal colon cancer by 30% and rectal cancer by 40%, according to a study published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, USA Today reports.
Universal Health Coverage Plans Under Consideration
Several different plans to provide universal health coverage to California residents are under consideration by state lawmakers, including Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), the Sacramento Bee reports.
Newspapers Examine Health-Related Provisions of State Budget Proposal
The San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday examined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) proposal for a prescription drug discount program, called Cal Rx, in his fiscal year 2005-2006 state budget plan, which otherwise “imposes significant cutbacks on state health care spending” to help address a projected $8.1 billion deficit.
Eleven pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday announced a new prescription drug discount card program for uninsured U.S. residents that will provide “significant” discounts on 275 brand-name medications, the Boston Globe reports.
Hospitals Announce Increased Construction Costs, Donations
California Healthline highlights recent hospital news, including recently announced increases in construction costs at two hospitals and two hospitals’ announcements of donations.
Popularity of Health Savings Accounts Could Increase in 2005, Surveys Indicate
Health savings accounts are “catching on” among some U.S. consumers, but the accounts remain unpopular among employers and currently “aren’t on many consumers’ radar,” according to several recent studies, the Wall Street Journal reports.