Latest California Healthline Stories
California Healthline Highlights Opinion Pieces on Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Referendum
Two recent opinion pieces addressed Proposition 72, a referendum on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that would preserve a new state 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.
Feinstein Endorses Ballot Measure To Fund Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday endorsed 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 human embryonic stem cell research, the Sacramento Bee reports.
North San Diego County Voters Favor Proposition To Fund New Palomar Medical Center, Survey Finds
About 67% of North San Diego County voters support Proposition BB, a $496 million district bond measure to fund construction of a new Palomar Medical Center, according to a Gallup survey commissioned by Palomar Pomerado Health in Escondido, the North County Times reports.
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) and President Bush on Thursday addressed domestic issues, such as health care costs, at campaign events, the Washington Post reports.
House Subcommittee Hearing Considers Issue of Clinical Trial Data Concealment
FDA has “repeatedly urged” drug makers not to disclose clinical study results showing their antidepressants are no more effective in children than placebos and has suppressed negative information “on the grounds that it might scare families and physicians away from the drugs,” according to documents and testimony at a House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
House, Senate Pass Legislation To Provide Funds for Programs To Help Prevent Youth Suicide
Congress on Thursday passed a bill (S 2634) that would allocate $82 million over the next three years for programs to help prevent youth suicide, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Orange County Retiree Medical Plan Faces $1.3 Billion in Debt, Will Exhaust Reserves in 2006
Orange County’s debt for its retiree medical benefits program has more than doubled over the past three years to $1.3 billion, and the county likely will exhaust financial reserves in 2006, according to a study by Mercer Human Resources Consulting, the Orange County Register reports.
Private Insurers Consider Medicare Premium Increase, HMO Plans
With Monday as the deadline for insurance companies to notify CMS of their intentions to offer Medicare Advantage plans, industry analysts and federal health officials are waiting to see how health insurers respond to the planned 17% increase in Medicare Part B premiums in 2005, the New York Times reports.
Judge Upholds Law Expanding Domestic Partner Benefits, Including Health Benefits
Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Loren McMaster on Wednesday ruled that a law (AB 205), that will give registered domestic partners most of the health coverage and other benefits that the state grants to married couples does not violate Proposition 22, a ballot measure approved by California voters in 2000 that defines marriage as a union between a woman and a man, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
San Jose Medical Center To Close in December
Nashville-based hospital chain HCA Healthcare on Wednesday announced that it would close San Jose Medical Center on Dec. 9, rather than in 2007 as previously planned, the San Jose Mercury News reports.