Latest California Healthline Stories
The San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times on Friday examined Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) planned overhauls of the Medi-Cal program and the state government.
Pelosi Pledges Overhaul of Medicare Law if Democrats Get Majority in Congress
U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D) on Thursday in a health care forum chaired by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in Boston said that if the Democratic party regains a majority in Congress, she hopes to repeal the Medicare law and promote universal health care coverage, Dow Jones reports.
Kaiser Permanente Launches New National Ad Campaign Promoting Healthy Lifestyles
Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s oldest HMO, on Monday will launch a national $40 million advertising campaign designed to “promot[e] a hipper, more contemporary Kaiser” through images of “healthy people, food and lifestyles,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Panel Expected To Recommend Increased Testing for Rare Diseases in Newborns
The Wall Street Journal on Friday examined actions by several states to expand the number of “rare but devastating diseases” for which they test infants, following calls from “a growing number” of doctors, parents and health officials to conform with an anticipated national infant testing standard.
Federal Trade Commission, Justice Department Oppose Collective Bargaining for Physicians
Allowing independent physicians to collectively bargain with health plans could enable doctors to conspire to fix prices, would “harm consumers financially and is unlikely to result in quality improvements,” a report issued last week by the Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department stated, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Speakers Promote Health Care Plan Proposed by Democratic Presidential Nominee Sen. John Kerry
Presumptive Democratic vice presidential nominee Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) on Wednesday at the Democratic National Convention promoted a health care plan proposed by Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), who officially became the Democratic presidential nominee, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Assembly Passes $105 Billion 2004-05 Budget
The Assembly on Wednesday voted 69-11 to “overwhelmingly” pass a $105 billion 2004-05 budget after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) “overcame resistance from members of his own party,” the San Jose Mercury News reports.
CMS officials last week announced a program to give U.S. hospitals $1 billion over four years to pay for the emergency care of uninsured patients, regardless of their citizenship status, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports.
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Express Scripts Faces Investigations by 20 States
Officials for Express Scripts, the third largest U.S. pharmacy benefit manager, on Wednesday announced that 20 states have launched investigations into company business practices, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
U.S. District Judge Rules on Sacramento Abortion Clinic Protest Ordinance
U.S. District Judge Frank Damrell on Wednesday said that an ordinance limiting protests at abortion clinics in Sacramento County is “poorly drafted” and “nonsensical” and ruled that people may stand at a clinic’s entrance, make comments and pass out leaflets as long as they do not obstruct or harass patients, the Sacramento Bee reports.