Latest California Healthline Stories
Bush Wins Presidential Election After Kerry Concedes Race
Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) on Wednesday called President Bush and conceded defeat in the 2004 presidential election, bringing an end to the previously uncalled race, the Washington Post reports.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Tuesday retained her seat, defeating former Secretary of State Bill Jones (R), the Los Angeles Times reports.
California Residents Approve Measure To Fund Stem Cell Research
California residents on Tuesday voted to approve Proposition 71, a bond initiative on the statewide ballot that will fund stem cell research, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Voters Defeat Measure To Fund Emergency Care
Voters “resoundingly rejected” Proposition 67, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot to fund emergency department care, the Contra Costa Times reports.
FDA Study Estimates More Than 27,000 Heart Attacks Linked to Vioxx
Arthritis medication Vioxx, which maker Merck voluntarily withdrew from the market in September, might have contributed to an estimated 27,785 heart attacks and sudden cardiac deaths between 1999 and 2003, according to an FDA memo published online Tuesday, the Bloomberg/Baltimore Sun reports.
Outcome of Referendum on Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Law Leans Toward Repeal
Both proponents and opponents for Proposition 72 — a referendum on SB 2, a state law requiring some employers to provide health care benefits to workers — on Tuesday said election results are “too close” to call, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Wall Street Journal Examines Issues Likely To Face Presidential Winner
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday examined the “most potent strategy” that the next president could take to address “longer-term problems that defy the sound-bite solutions of stump speeches,” such as Medicare reform, increased health care costs, and other issues.
California Residents Approve Ballot Measure To Fund Mental Health Services
California voters on Tuesday approved Proposition 63, a measure on the statewide ballot that beginning in January will increase the state personal income tax by 1% on residents with annual incomes that exceed $1 million to pay for mental health services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
CMS Committee To Consider Medicare Coverage of Bariatric Surgery
As insurers across the nation consider increasing coverage of medical weight-loss treatments, a Medicare advisory committee on Thursday will examine data on bariatric weight-loss surgery to determine whether CMS should expand coverage of the surgery as a treatment for morbid obesity, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Tenet Healthcare Reports Smallest Loss in Six Quarters
Officials for Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare on Tuesday announced a third-quarter loss of $70 million, or 15 cents per share, compared with a loss of $308 million, or 66 cents per share, in the same quarter last year, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.