Latest California Healthline Stories
Boston Globe Examines Increase in Nursing School Applicants
The Boston Globe on Wednesday examined the “flood” of nursing school applicants as “nursing has come to be seen as a stable, reasonable well-paying profession with a bright future” in the current “weak” job market.
The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on Wednesday voted to reject a bill (SBX4 18) that would have transferred responsibility for workers’ compensation fraud investigations to counties from the Department of Insurance, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) on Wednesday told hundreds of seniors at a town hall meeting in Henderson, Nev., that he would seek to revise the new Medicare law and that President Bush has “stood in the way” of legalized reimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and other nations, the New York Times reports.
Drug Enforcement Administration Officials, Pain Specialists Issue Guidelines on Use of Medications
Drug Enforcement Administration officials and pain specialists on Wednesday issued guidelines on the use of pain medications to help convince physicians that they will not risk prosecution when they properly prescribe controlled substances such as OxyContin and morphine, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Schwarzenegger Could Soon Act on Health-Related Legislation
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) actions on hundreds of bills that will come before him over the next three weeks as the legislative session concludes could “define his policy positions” on some issues, including health care, “as never before,” the Contra Costa Times reports.
Voter opinion of Proposition 72, a referendum on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot to preserve a state law (SB 2) requiring some employers to provide health insurance for employees, has remained “largely unchanged” since June, with 48% of voters in favor of the measure, according to the results of a Field Poll released Wednesday, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Long Island Newsday Examines Recent FDA Intervention in Product Liability Lawsuits
Long Island Newsday on Wednesday examined the Bush administration’s efforts since 2001 to block liability lawsuits against medical device manufacturers and drug makers.
States Avoid Benefit Reductions To Retain Medicaid Funds, Survey Finds
States do not have the “political will” to reduce Medicaid benefits because they depend on federal matching funds to finance other state programs and subsidize hospitals and nursing homes, according to a recent study conducted by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the AP/Albany Times Union reports.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors Approves Tax Exemption for Some Biotech Companies
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to approve legislation that will exempt some biotechnology companies from the city’s payroll tax for part of the next 10 years, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Prison Health System Reports Critical of Physicians, Quality of Care
The incompetence of some physicians employed by the state prison health system has led to “serious deficiencies in health care for inmates,” according to reports released Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.