Latest California Healthline Stories
Wal-Mart Contributes $500,000 to Campaign To Repeal Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Law
Wal-Mart on Tuesday contributed $500,000 to the campaign to repeal SB 2, a state law that will require some employers to provide health insurance to employees or pay into a state fund to provide such coverage, the Sacramento Bee reports.
FDA Approves New Spinal Disc Implant To Replace Degenerated Discs in Lower Back
FDA on Tuesday approved Charite, a new spinal disc implant manufactured by Johnson & Johnson, to replace degenerated discs in the lower back, the Wall Street Journal reports.
California Trauma System Needs Planning and Funding, Experts Testify
The California trauma care system needs statewide planning and a permanent budget to avoid the “patchwork funding” that causes it to “lurc[h] from crisis to crisis,” according to testimony before a joint state hearing Tuesday, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Insurance Broker Marsh & McLennan Announces Reform Plan; Move Could Lead to Industrywide Changes
Property-casualty insurance broker Marsh & McLennan on Tuesday announced a broad reform plan that would end the practice of “contingent commissions” and could serve as a “template” for changes in the insurance industry, the Los Angeles Times reports.
California Healthline Highlights Some Assembly Candidates’ Positions on Propositions 71, 72
Some newspapers recently have featured articles focusing on Assembly races, including information on candidates’ positions on propositions 71 and 72, health-related measures on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot.
Opinion Pieces Address Ballot Measure To Fund Children’s Hospitals
Two recent opinion pieces address Proposition 61, a bond measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that would provide funding to children’s hospitals.
WellPoint Health Networks CEO Says Proposed Merger With Anthem Remains ‘Appropriate’
WellPoint Health Networks CEO Leonard Schaeffer on Tuesday in a conference call with analysts said that although regulators from three states are raising new questions about the proposed merger between the Thousand Oaks-based insurer and Anthem, the deal “still is the most appropriate thing for either of us to do,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Washington Post Examines Increase in Number of Cosmetic Surgeries Among Teenagers
The Washington Post on Tuesday examined how the “enormous popularity” of reality television programs — such as “Extreme Makeover,” “The Swan” and “I Want a Famous Face” — has “fueled the desire of adolescent girls” as young as age 14 to “alter their bodies permanently” through cosmetic surgeries, such as breast implants, liposuction and “tummy tucks.”
Coalition of Health Plans To Pay $50 Million in Quality Bonuses to 215 Physician Groups
A coalition of six health plans on Thursday announced plans to pay $50 million in bonuses to 215 doctors’ groups in the state that received positive evaluations for immunizing children, screening women for cancer and other care under a “pay-for-performance” program, the AP/Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
AP/Dallas Morning News Examines ‘Feverish Behavior’ Over U.S. Flu Vaccine Shortage
FDA officials on Monday “gave a guarded response” to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s (D) request for the state to purchase up to 87,000 doses of flu vaccine from Europe to compensate for a flu vaccine shortage this season, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.