Latest California Healthline Stories
Los Angeles County Considering Plan To Hire Private Consultant To Manage King/Drew Medical Center
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday is expected to approve a plan under which Illinois-based Navigant Consulting would take over day-to-day operations of Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
SEC Investigates Chiron Over Flu Vaccine Supply Failure
Officials for California-based Chiron Wednesday announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an informal investigation into issues of disclosure related to problems at Chiron’s influenza vaccine manufacturing plant in Liverpool, England, after British regulatory officials last week suspended for three months the Liverpool plant’s license, the New York Times reports.
Writers Guild of America Negotiates Contract With Film Studios, Television Networks
Months after formal negotiations were halted, representatives for the Writers Guild of America on Wednesday reached a $58 million contract agreement with film studios and television networks that would increase the studios’ and networks’ contributions to WGA’s health care fund, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lockyer, Three Other States Say Federal Government Has No Authority Over Medicinal Marijuana Use
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) on Wednesday filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of California, Maryland and Washington state that said patients who use locally grown marijuana for medical purposes should be exempt from federal drug enforcement, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Washington Post Examines Bills on Health Care, Other Issues Left Unapproved by 108th Congress
The Washington Post on Thursday examined the “huge stack of unfinished business — and dead bills” — on health care and other issues as the “bitterly divided” 108th Congress adjourned this week.
Corporate Tax Bill To Change How Employers Can Reduce Health Benefits for Employees
The corporate tax bill (HR 4520) approved by the Senate this week contains a measure that would give large employers greater flexibility in how they cut costs for retired workers’ health care benefits, the Wall Street Journal reports.
WellPoint CEO Discusses Health Care Costs, Anthem Merger in Sacramento Bee Interview
WellPoint Health Networks CEO Leonard Schaeffer, in a Sacramento Bee interview published Sunday, spoke “[a]gainst the backdrop of litigation and speculation” about increasing standardization through the electronic medical records system, a referendum on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot on an employer-sponsored health care law and the company’s proposed $16.5 billion merger with Indianapolis-based Anthem.
New Yorker Article Addresses Measure To Fund Stem Cell Research
The New Yorker in its Oct. 18 issue examines Proposition 71 in the context of the history of stem cell research in the United States.
FDA Approves First Implantable Identification Chip for Medical Use
FDA has approved for medical use an implantable microchip that will allow physicians and other health care providers to have access to patient identifications and medical records, the Washington Post reports.
Health Care Issues Account for ‘Large Share’ of California’s Problems, Columnist Writes
Citing Propositions 61, 63, 67 and 72, columnist Peter Schrag writes in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece that it is “no coincidence that of the 16 ballot measures that Californians will face in November, four deal with health care.”