Latest California Healthline Stories
Santa Clara County May Block Plans To Move Trauma Center
Santa Clara County officials could prevent a proposal to move a trauma center from San Jose Medical Center to Regional Medical Center of San Jose, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Proposition 71, a measure on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that would issue state bonds to raise an average of $295 million annually over 10 years to promote stem cell research would generate at least $6.4 billion in additional state revenue, and treatments resulting from the research could reduce health care costs by $3.4 billion to $6.9 billion annually, according to a study released Tuesday by initiative supporters, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Schwarzenegger Recommends That Voters Reject Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Law
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday announced he would recommend that state residents vote “no” on Proposition 72, a referendum on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that allows voters to uphold or reject a law (SB 2) that will require some employers to provide health insurance to their employees or pay into a state fund to provide such coverage, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Few Medicare Beneficiaries Apply To Participate in Prescription Drug Benefit Pilot Program
Fewer than 7,000 of the estimated 500,000 eligible Medicare beneficiaries with certain serious illnesses have applied to participate in a pilot program that provides early prescription drug coverage, the New York Times reports.
Not-for-Profit, For-Profit Insurers Divided Over Bill To Mandate Maternity Benefits
A bill (SB 1555) passed by the Legislature last month that would require all health insurers in the state to cover maternity care under individual plans has divided insurers into not-for-profits that support it and for-profits that oppose it, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
President Bush, Democratic Presidential Nominee Sen. John Kerry Focus Campaigns on Health Care
President Bush plans to discuss his health care plan on Monday at a “Democratic stronghold” in Muskegon, Mich., which will be the first of a three-stop bus tour in the state, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines November Statewide Ballot, Including Health-Related Initiatives
The Los Angeles Times on Monday examined the upcoming Nov. 2 statewide ballot — “one of the longest and most complicated” since the state invoked direct democracy in 1911 — which will feature five health-related initiatives that will put Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) “on the defensive to protect his political fortune and leav[e] voters to sort out a patchwork of ideas.”
Pfizer Official Advocates Reimportation of Lower-Cost Prescription Drugs From Abroad
Peter Rost, vice president of marketing for endocrine care at Pfizer, on Friday advocated the reimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from abroad, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Preliminary MedPAC Report Examines Competition Issues Related to Specialty Hospitals
Specialty hospitals treat a larger percentage of healthier Medicare beneficiaries and a smaller percentage of low-income patients than full-service facilities, according to a preliminary report released by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Schwarzenegger Will No Longer Accept Contributions From Workers’ Compensation Insurers, Others
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) will no longer accept contributions from insurers that issue workers’ compensation policies, energy companies or Indian casinos, the Los Angeles Times reports.