Latest California Healthline Stories
Emergency Department, Trauma Unit Closures Increasing Patient Wait Times in Los Angeles County
Los Angeles Fire Department officials during a Fire Commission meeting on Monday said that the closure of six emergency departments in the city over the last 18 months has increased the time required for paramedics to bring patients to hospitals, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Rules Labels on Foods With Olive Oil Can Make Health Benefit Claims
FDA on Tuesday ruled that labels on food containing olive oil can state that it might reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Some Health-Related Ballot Measures Could Affect Santa Clara County Budget
The outcome of several measures on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot — including three health-related initiatives — could affect how much the Santa Clara County budget deficit “shrinks or grows in the next several years,” the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Church of Scientology Voices Opposition To Ballot Measure To Fund Mental Health Services
In a “mass mailing” to residents statewide, the Church of Scientology voiced its opposition to Proposition 63, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Field Poll Releases Survey Results on Health-Related Ballot Measures
Support for ballot measures to fund human stem cell research and children’s hospitals is increasing, while opposition to a referendum on an employer-sponsored health coverage state law is increasing and polling results on two other health-related ballot measures remain “virtually unchanged” since late September, according to a Field Poll survey, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to let Philip Morris USA delay paying a $10.5 million damage award to former smoker and California resident Patricia Henley Reyes until the court acts on an appeal of the judgment, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Lockyer Launches Formal Investigation Into Business Practices of Insurance Industry
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) on Friday launched a formal investigation into potential “bid rigging, price fixing and other possible antitrust violations” by the insurance industry, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Cox News/Kansas City Star Examines California Stem Cell Ballot Measure
Cox News/Kansas City Star on Monday looked at Proposition 71 — a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot to fund human stem cell research — that has put the “controversial topic” of human embryonic stem cell research “front and center before [California] voters.”
Dubin Medical Denies Price Gouging in Flu Vaccine Distribution
San Diego-based Dubin Medical last week denied allegations that it charged unfair prices for flu vaccines amid a national shortage, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Proposition 67 Supporters Call Measure ‘Band-Aid’ for State Emergency Care System
Supporters of Proposition 67, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that would establish a telephone bill surcharge to fund emergency care, maintain that the initiative “wouldn’t solve” problems facing emergency departments — many of which are “flooded” with uninsured patients who cannot afford to pay for care — but would help in the short term, the Contra Costa Times reports.