Latest California Healthline Stories
California Healthline Highlights Recent Legislative Action
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) recently has signed and vetoed a number of health-related bills.
More U.S. Residents Jailed in Mexico for Illegal Prescription Drug Purchases
The San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday examined the increased number of U.S. residents who are arrested and jailed in Mexico for purchasing medications without a prescription from a Mexican physician.
Washington Post Examines Pressures on FDA for Fast Obesity Drug Approval
The Washington Post on Friday examined the pharmaceutical industry’s “massive drive to develop new diet pills” and its “intense campaign to persuade the government to make it easier to get weight-loss drugs onto the market.”
CMS Approves Medicare Coverage for PET Scans To Detect Alzheimer’s
CMS on Thursday announced that Medicare will begin covering an “expensive” brain scan — called a positron emission tomography, or PET, test — to help determine whether beneficiaries have Alzheimer’s disease, the Washington Post reports.
State Supreme Court Upholds $10.5 Million in Damages Against Philip Morris
The California Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a $10.5 million damage award to former smoker Patricia Henley Reyes, marking the first time the state has upheld such a ruling in a health-related smoking case, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bush Says During Campaign Stop That Kerry Seeks To Nationalize Health Care
President Bush on Thursday, during campaign appearances in Minnesota, told audiences that Democratic Presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry’s (Mass.) health care proposal is “wrong for the American citizen,” the New York Times reports.
Almost Half of Hospitals Not Meeting Voluntary Charity Care Guidelines, Survey Finds
Almost half of hospitals in California do not follow voluntary industry guidelines for assisting uninsured residents, according to a survey released Thursday by advocacy group Health Access California, the Sacramento Bee reports.
The Contra Costa Times on Thursday examined recent donations to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) from groups with “very specific agendas,” including a pharmaceutical company and health insurer, despite the governor’s efforts to “head off criticism of his fund raising by creating an ever-evolving set of restrictions that prevent certain groups from giving him money.”
San Francisco, Marin County Breast Cancer Rates Exceed National Average, Study Shows
Women in San Francisco have a higher rate of breast cancer than women in Marin County, according to a study released Wednesday by the Northern California Cancer Center, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Prescription Drug Costs Force Many Chronically Ill People To Limit Use, Study Finds
About two-thirds of chronically ill patients who limit their use of prescription drugs because of the cost do not first inform their physicians, according to a study published on Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the Evansville Courier & Press reports.