Latest California Healthline Stories
King/Drew Medical Center Could Lose CMS Funding Following Most Recent Inspection
Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center on Jan. 19 is scheduled to lose $200 million in CMS funding after failing the most recent inspection by federal regulators in December, according to an e-mail sent Wednesday to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors by a county health official, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Governors Launch Bipartisan Effort To Oppose Medicaid Funding Cuts
The National Governors Association in December began “mounting a bipartisan lobbying effort to stave off new federal limits” on Medicaid, the New York Times reports.
More than half of the hospitals inspected for alleged violations of state nurse-to-patient staffing ratio rules by state officials do not comply with the rules, according to a Los Angeles Times investigation of recent state inspection reports.
Proposed Bill Would Require Pharmacists To Dispense Contraceptives, Despite Personal Objections
Assembly member Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) has proposed a bill that would require pharmacists to fill prescriptions for contraceptives, “even when it goes against their religious or moral beliefs,” the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Some Groups Considering Health-Related Ballot Initiatives for Next Statewide Election
Some Democrats and liberal groups might try to include measures on the next statewide ballot addressing “some long-favored policies and programs” — including health coverage for children and prescription drugs — that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) “has so far blocked,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
The administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Dec. 23 issued an emergency regulation to change the guidelines for determining workers’ compensation insurance payments for permanently injured workers starting Jan. 1, the Knight Ridder/Contra Costa Times reports.
Some Democrats Plan To Pursue Health-Related Legislation in New Session
Democratic legislators are “bracing to stop” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) from reducing funding for health and social services programs during the 2005 legislative session, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Miami Judge Delays Trial in Physician Class-Action Lawsuit Against HMOs
U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno in Miami has postponed the trial in a racketeering lawsuit brought by more than 600,000 physicians against six of the largest U.S. health insurers until Sept. 6, instead of the first week in March, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports.
Psychiatrists’ Grievance Concerning Atascadero State Hospital Denied by State
The Department of Mental Health has denied a grievance filed by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists on behalf of physicians at Atascadero State Hospital alleging that inadequate staffing has created unsafe working conditions, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
California Healthline Rounds Up Federal Legislative Agenda for 2005
President Bush this week will renew his push for “revisions in medical liability law” in a speech Wednesday in Collinsville, Ill., the AP/Boston Herald reports.