Latest California Healthline Stories
State Fund Proposes Decrease in Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rates
State Compensation Insurance Fund on Monday announced a proposed 5% premium rate decrease for workers’ compensation insurance policies issued or renewed beginning Jan. 1, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wall Street Journal Examines Challenges Related to Health Savings Accounts for Consumers, Providers
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined some of the challenges facing consumers, insurers and banks as the health care industry works out the details of health savings accounts.
Some Large Verdicts in Medical Malpractice Lawsuits Significantly Reduced Through Settlements
While “headline-grabbing,” multimillion-dollar medical malpractice verdicts “have become an important rallying cry” for tort reform advocates, such awards often are reduced through settlements, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Gradual Closure Begins at San Jose Regional Medical Center
Ambulances on Monday stopped taking patients to the emergency department at San Jose Medical Center and its trauma center was closed in preparation for the facility’s planned closure Dec. 9, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Rates of Hypertension Vary Across State, Report Finds
South Los Angeles, Compton and Antelope Valley have some of the highest rates of hypertension among residents ages 45 and older in the state, while Santa Monica, Culver City and Beverly Hills have some of the lowest, according to a report released Monday by the University of California-Los Angeles Center for Health Policy Research, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Drug Enforcement Administration Issues Statement To Clarify Guidelines on Pain Treatment
A new statement to clarify guidelines for the prescription of pain medication published by the Drug Enforcement Administration on Nov. 16 has left “many pain doctors and patients more fearful than before that they could be arrested for practicing what they consider good medicine,” the Washington Post reports.
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in California Medical Marijuana Case
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday offered a “mostly skeptical reception” to arguments from medical marijuana advocates in a case that will determine whether the federal government can “still ban possession of the drug in states that have cut or eliminated sanctions for using it” to treat symptoms of chronic illnesses, the Washington Post reports.
Some Say State Elder Care System Is More Costly Than Necessary
Some advocates and federal investigators said California has a “one-size-fits-all” system of care for elderly and disabled residents, resulting in nursing home patients remaining in higher-cost homes when community-care alternatives exist, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Judge Orders Some Pharmacists at Los Angeles County Facilities To End Strike
Pharmacists at Los Angeles County medical centers on Monday began a scheduled two-day strike, but Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Yaffe issued a restraining order cutting the action short for some pharmacists, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Grassley Reiterates Warning About FDA Retaliation Against Safety Official
Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Monday “escalated his campaign” to prevent FDA from “retaliating” against David Graham, associate director of drug safety in the FDA Office of Drug Safety, for his testimony that the agency “is not doing enough to protect the public” from potentially dangerous prescription drugs, CQ Today reports.