Latest California Healthline Stories
California Healthline Highlights Action on Health-Related Bills by Governor, Legislature
California Healthline highlights action by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and the Legislature on several health-related bills. Summaries of the bills and specific actions appear below.
Chicken Pox Vaccine Saves $100 Million Per Year in Hospital Care, Study Finds
The chicken pox vaccine saves the U.S. health care system about $100 million per year through reduced hospitalizations for severe cases of the disease, according to a study published in the September issue of Pediatrics, the AP/New York Times reports.
California Performance Review Proposals Would Fall Short of Cost Savings Estimates, Report Says
The California Performance Review overstates the amount of potential savings to the state government, and its recommendations would not significantly reduce the state budget deficit, according to a report released Aug. 27 by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Los Angeles Times last week examined the state medical system’s recent history of “lurching from crisis to crisis” and looked at the possible effects of two measures included on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot that will “present voters with tough choices between emergency services and taxes,” as well as state mandates for some employers.
Boxer Seeks To Define Differences With Jones on Abortion Rights, Stem Cell Research Issues
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on Wednesday “tethered” her rival, former California Secretary of State Bill Jones (R), to the Bush administration’s opposition to abortion rights and restrictions on stem cell research, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Greenspan Recommends Limits on Medicare Benefits
Echoing previous statements, Federal Reserve Board Chair Alan Greenspan on Friday warned that the United States will face “abrupt and painful” choices in the future unless lawmakers act quickly to limit Medicare and Social Security benefits for baby boomers, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.
Assembly Passes Bill To Ban Vaccines Containing Mercury for Pregnant Women, Young Children
The Assembly on Thursday voted 48-21 to approve a bill (AB 2943) that would ban pregnant women and children from receiving vaccines that contain a preservative made with ethyl mercury, the Los Angeles Times reports
GlaxoSmithKline Agrees To Settle Paxil Lawsuit, Post Clinical Trial Results in Online Registry
Officials for GlaxoSmithKline on Thursday agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer (D) that will require the company to post all clinical trial results by the end of 2005 and pay $2.5 million to the state of New York, the Washington Post reports.
U.S. Employers To Shift More Health Care Expenses to Workers in 2005, Survey Finds
U.S. employers estimate that health care expenses will increase by an average of 12.9% in 2005 but only plan to raise their spending by an average of 9.6%, with many expected to “shift much of the difference to employees in the form of higher required contributions” and copayments for the third consecutive year, according to the preliminary results of an annual survey released on Thursday by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.
Los Angeles Times Editorial Addresses Problems Facing Health Care System
The “crisis that dwarfs all others” with regard to the emergency care system “is the huge number of people with no medical insurance,” a Los Angeles Times editorial states, adding that Los Angeles County is the “epicenter of the uninsured crisis” in the United States.