Latest California Healthline Stories
Group Proposes Plan To Keep Open Community Hospital of San Bernardino
Analysts hired by the medical staff of Community Hospital of San Bernardino on Thursday announced a plan to try to keep the 321-bed hospital open, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Some Senate Democrats on Tuesday continued their criticism of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) for suggesting that prescription drug reimportation legislation will not be brought up for a floor vote this year, the New York Times reports.
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) on Tuesday during campaign stops in Wisconsin and Ohio responded to criticism from President Bush that the Kerry health care proposal would force middle-class residents to pay higher taxes to fund a “massive, complicated blueprint to have [the] government take over the decision-making in health care,” USA Today reports.
FDA Advisory Committee Recommends Black Box Warnings on Antidepressants
Following a two-day hearing on the safety and efficacy of antidepressants in children, an FDA advisory panel on Tuesday voted 15-8 to recommend that all antidepressants carry a black box warning — the strongest warning issued by the government — to inform consumers that the drugs can cause suicidal thoughts and behavior in patients under age 18, the Boston Globe reports.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to approve a short-term contract with Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science to administer physician-training programs at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Hotel workers in Los Angeles and San Francisco who are represented by the union Unite Here on Tuesday voted to authorize strikes because contract negotiations with their employers have stalled over health care and other issues, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lawsuit Alleges Sutter Overcharged Uninsured Patients in Northern California
Lawyers on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court against not-for-profit Sutter Health, alleging that the hospital chain violated its responsibility as a tax-exempt organization to provide charity care by overcharging uninsured patients at 26 hospitals in Northern California, the Sacramento Bee reports.
CMS Improperly Adopted Demonstration Program, Lawmaker Says
CMS officials exceeded their legislative authority by adopting a demonstration program in 2001 and 2002 that was intended to encourage preferred provider plans to offer coverage to Medicare beneficiaries, Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) on Tuesday said a forthcoming General Accounting Office report, requested by his office, has found, CongressDaily reports.
Senators Raise Concerns Over Medicare Part B Premium Increase in Finance Committee Hearing
Some Democrats during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday expressed concern about a recently announced 17.5% increase in Medicare Part B premiums in 2005, saying the Bush administration is to blame for the “record” rise in costs, Reuters/Houston Chronicle reports.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on Tuesday circulated a draft bill that would give HHS more authority to regulate the sale of medical supplies to hospitals to help “end abusive practices” after health care and antitrust experts testified at a hearing that the “industry should not be left to regulate itself,” the New York Times reports.