Latest California Healthline Stories
County Opens Inquiry Into Incidents Involving King/Drew Medical Center Intensive Care Nurses
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley on Monday announced that his office has initiated a preliminary inquiry into the deaths of two patients in the intensive care unit at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center at the request of county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Hospital Patients Have Lower Costs at Independent Facilities, Study Finds
Patients in managed care plans who are treated at hospitals that have consolidated into large hospital systems pay an average of $103 more per day for care than patients at independent hospitals, but the level of patient care is roughly equal, according to a study published in the January/February issue of Health Affairs, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
U.S. Consumers Cite Health Care Costs as Top Health Care Priority for President Bush, Congress
While the public favors reducing awards in medical malpractice suits and allowing U.S. residents to purchase medications from Canada, they rank those issues relatively low out of a list of 12 health care priorities for President Bush and Congress, a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health shows, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Berkeley Medical Marijuana Measure Fails in Recount of Vote
Alameda County Assistant Registrar Elaine Ginnold on Tuesday announced that Measure R, an initiative on the Nov. 2, 2004, Berkeley ballot that included provisions addressing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, lost a recount tally by 166 votes, slightly less than the original margin of 191, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, HHS To Release Revised National Dietary Guidelines
U.S. Department of Agriculture and HHS officials who have been revising national dietary guidelines on Wednesday are expected to lower the number of daily recommended grain products — from seven to 12 servings to five to 10 servings — a move that could “promp[t FDA] to weigh labeling rules for whole-grain content, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-1 to request a comprehensive “blueprint” proposal to establish an independent health authority to oversee the county’s five public hospitals, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Health Care Spending Growth Slowed in 2003, CMS Report Finds
The “torrid pace of growth” in U.S. health care spending “cooled a bit” in 2003 — in part because of state reductions in the Medicaid program and slower growth in prescription drug spending — but the amount of spending, about $1.7 trillion, exceeded 15% of the gross domestic product for the first time, according to an annual CMS report published in the January/February issue of Health Affairs, the New York Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Budget Plan Includes Health-Related Proposals
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday proposed a $112 billion state budget for fiscal year 2005-2006 that does not raise taxes but “includes tough cuts in health care” programs to help address a projected $8.1 billion deficit, the Los Angeles Times reports.
NIH Implements Royalty Disclosure Policy Five Years After Promised
NIH officials last week implemented a policy requiring government researchers to disclose personal royalties they receive for developing medical treatments — almost five years after HHS officials pledged to disclose such arrangements to patients, the AP/Hartford Courant reports.
San Francisco Plans Reorganization of HIV/AIDS Network
San Francisco this year will reorganize its network of services for HIV-positive residents in part because of a $4 million decline in funding in fiscal year 2004 from the federal Ryan White CARE Act and decreased private donations, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.