Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Candidates Discuss Health Care in Debate
Assembly member Abel Maldonado (R-San Luis Obispo) and San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Peg Pinard (D), who are running in what is “expected to be one of only two competitive state Senate elections in California this fall,” on Wednesday debated health care issues, including workers’ compensation reform, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
Rate of Overweight U.S. Residents Remains at 62% in 2004, Survey Finds
The rate of overweight U.S. residents remained at about 62% in 2004, according to an annual NPD Group market survey on dietary habits released on Wednesday, Long Island Newsday reports.
Contra Costa Times Examines Ballot Measure To Fund Mental Health Services
The Contra Costa Times on Friday examined the ramifications passage of a measure on the Nov.2 statewide ballot to fund mental health services.
Surgeon General Report Calls for Increased Efforts To Prevent, Treat Osteoporosis
About 34 million U.S. residents are at risk of developing the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis, and more people will continue to be at risk for the disease as the population ages, according to a surgeon general’s report released Thursday, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Presidential Candidates Focus on Medicare, Abortion Issues in Post-Debate Campaign Speeches
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) on Thursday at AARP’s national convention in Las Vegas “rolled out a new campaign speech packed with populist rhetoric and sharp indictments of the Bush administration,” telling about 9,000 seniors that the Medicare legislation signed by President Bush “is a failure,” the Washington Post reports.
The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday considered Proposition 72, an initiative on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that asks voters to uphold or reject SB 2, a state law that will require some employers to provide health insurance to their employees or pay into a state fund to provide such coverage.
Two Newspapers Release Recommendations for Health Care-Related Propositions on November Ballot
The Bakersfield Californian and the Fresno Bee on Thursday published recommendations for initiatives that will appear on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, including five health-related measures.
The early information that Medicare beneficiaries received about the new Medicare prescription drug discount card program was “confusing or inadequate” and did little to help them make an informed choice, according to an HHS Office of Inspector General memo, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Flu Vaccine Supplies From Other Nations Not Likely This Year, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Says
FDA likely could not approve influenza vaccine manufactured in Canada or Germany for use in the United States in time to address the shortage for the current flu season, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said on Thursday, despite comments from President Bush on Wednesday in the presidential debate that indicated such a possibility, the New York Times reports.
Workers To Rally in Washington, D.C., for Universal Health Coverage, Other Demands
Thousands of workers from across the nation on Sunday will rally for universal health coverage “from cradle to grave,” in addition to 21 other demands, at the Million Worker March in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports.