Latest California Healthline Stories
Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has “made improving the state’s business climate a top priority,” he “has not done the same” for Proposition 72, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Three Newspapers Release Recommendations for Health Care-Related Measures on November Ballot
The Modesto Bee, the Los Angeles Times and the San Luis Obispo Tribune have published editorials recommending how state residents should vote on the initiatives, including five related to health, that will appear on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot.
President Bush Signs Bill To Fund Youth Suicide Prevention Programs
President Bush on Thursday signed legislation (S 2634) that will allocate $82 million in grants over the next three years for programs to help prevent youth suicide, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
State Receives More Than 250,000 Doses of Flu Vaccine
The Department of Health Services on Thursday received 271,740 doses of influenza vaccine that had not been expected for another six weeks — “the first tangible sign” that “large quantities of vaccine” are being redirected to the state and organizations that treat large numbers of high-risk people, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Raymond Flynn, former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and Boston mayor, on Wednesday wrote a letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) asking him to “reconsider why you are Catholic and consider correcting your stance on authorizing tax-exempt, general obligation bonds to fund embryonic stem cell research,” the Boston Herald reports.
The Uninsured Pay More for Prescription Drugs, Survey Finds
U.S. residents without health insurance pay more for prescription drugs than the federal government, according to a survey released on Thursday by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, the New York Daily News reports.
Pfizer Official Rost Criticizes Grassley Over Stance on Reimportation of Prescription Drugs
Peter Rost — a vice president of marketing at Pfizer who has publicly supported the legalization of importing lower-cost prescription drugs from other nations — on Thursday said that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has failed to adequately encourage the practice, the Des Moines Register reports.
About 1.4 Million Computer Records for In-Home Supportive Service Breached
The Health and Human Services Agency on Tuesday announced that an Aug. 1 “hacker attack” on a University of California-Berkeley computer might have exposed the personal records of about 600,000 care recipients and providers in the In-Home Supportive Services program, which provides a variety of services for seniors and people with disabilities, Knight Ridder/Contra Costa Times reports.
Flu Vaccine Shortage Could Lead to Additional Financial Problems for Emergency Departments
The Los Angeles Times on Thursday examined how the U.S. flu vaccine shortage “poses a new set of medical and financial challenges” for emergency departments in Los Angeles County “as flu patients jam hospitals along with more seriously ill people.”
Birth Control Pill Reduces Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke, Some Cancers, Study Finds
Women who use oral contraceptives have lower risks of heart disease, stroke, uterine and ovarian cancers and elevated cholesterol levels and no increased risk of breast cancer, according to the findings of a large federal study that were presented Wednesday in Philadelphia at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.