Latest California Healthline Stories
Opinion Pieces Address Referendum on Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Law
Two newspapers recently published opinion pieces on Proposition 72, a referendum on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot to uphold a state law (SB 2) that will require some employers to provide health insurance to employees.
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on Friday dismissed an antitrust lawsuit that claimed the National Resident Matching Program artificially keeps wages low and makes doctors work long hours, and he cited legislation signed in April by President Bush that “effectively exempted the program from antitrust claims,” the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Inmates with Medical, Mental Health Problems Face Waits at Los Angeles County Jails
Wait times to see a doctor for Los Angeles County jail inmates with medical or psychological problems can “drag on for two or three days” because of understaffing, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Audit Finds Inadequate Financial Records Related to King/Drew Medical Center
Because financial records related to Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center were inadequate, Los Angeles County auditors were unable to account for millions of dollars that the county spent each year for physician training and clinical programs at the facility, according to a county fiscal audit expected to be released Friday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Flu Vaccine Effective in More Than Half of Cases, CDC Finds
The influenza vaccine administered last season was effective in 52% of older adults, although the vaccine was not an exact match for the flu strain most prevalent in the United States, according to a CDC study released on Thursday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Government Registry of Clinical Trials Necessary, Marcia Angell States in Opinion Piece
“[S]uppressing unfavorable research results is fairly standard practice in the pharmaceutical industry,” but with the creation of a public registry of clinical trials, some “abuses” could be eliminated, Marcia Angell, former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.
Modesto City Council Approves Kaiser Permanente Hospital Plan
After a four-and-a-half-hour meeting and public hearing, the Modesto City Council on Tuesday voted 7-0 to approve Kaiser Permanente’s plan to build a 49-acre medical campus that would include 250 beds, the Modesto Bee reports.
Schwarzenegger May Veto ‘Last-Minute’ Legislation; Move Could Affect Nursing Home Reimbursement Bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) is “threatening to veto last-minute legislation that pops up” before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31 under a practice called “gut and amend,” a move that could affect a bill (AB 1629) related to nursing home reimbursements, the Los Angeles Times reports.
East Los Angeles Hospital May Close; Emergency Department Closed Monday
A hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday could determine whether a court-appointed trustee will close Elastar Community Hospital in East Los Angeles immediately or keep it open during a search for a buyer, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wall Street Journal Profiles Las Vegas Cancer Care Institute
The Wall Street Journal on Friday profiled the efforts of MGM Mirage President Jim Murren and his wife, Heather Hay Murren, to establish a “state-of-the-art cancer institute” at the University of Nevada.