Latest California Healthline Stories
California Nurses Association Members Protest During Schwarzenegger Speech at Women’s Conference
Members of the California Nurses Association on Tuesday “repeatedly interrupted” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) speech at a Long Beach women’s conference to protest a decision by his administration last month to delay the implementation of revised nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, the Los Angeles Times reports.
House Subcommittee Calls for Reforms to Medicaid Prescription Drug Reimbursement System
Medicaid is “excessively overpaying pharmacists” for prescription drugs, according to a government study presented Tuesday at a hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, CongressDaily reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Examines Provisions of Measure To Fund Stem Cell Research
The San Francisco Chronicle on Wednesday examined several provisions included in the “fine print” of Proposition 71, a bond measure approved by voters on Nov. 2 that will fund stem cell research.
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Misses Deadline To Deliver Report on Prescription Drug Reimportation
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Tuesday said that he would not deliver a report on prescription drug reimportation to Congress by Wednesday as required by the Medicare law adopted last year, CongressDaily reports.
Annual Costs Double for Severely Obese Medicare Beneficiaries, Study Finds
Annual Medicare costs for beneficiaries who were severely obese in their middle age were nearly double those of beneficiaries who had a normal weight in their middle age, according to a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Nursing Home Operator Will Not Renew Leases for Two Fresno-Area Facilities
Arkansas-based nursing home operator Beverly Enterprises said that it would not renew its leases for two skilled-nursing facilities it operates in the Fresno area and that the facilities would close in the next several months if new operators are not found, the Fresno Bee reports.
FDA Advisory Committee To Review New Studies on Silicone Breast Implants
An FDA advisory committee in April will review new safety studies on silicone breast implants, which the agency banned in 1992, according to officials from California-based Inamed, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Some critics of legislation to reform the state workers’ compensation insurance system said that temporary rules proposed by the Division of Workers’ Compensation would substantially reduce benefits for injured workers, the Sacramento Bee reports.
One year after President Bush signed the new Medicare law, government officials and consumer advocates continue to be frustrated in their efforts to enroll low-income beneficiaries in the prescription drug discount card program, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Ortiz Introduces Legislation Addressing Prescription Drug Costs
Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) has introduced legislation (SB 19) to create California RX, a state pharmaceutical assistance program intended to “pressure drug makers to lower prices,” the Sacramento Bee reports.