Latest California Healthline Stories
Democratic legislators are preparing to vote on their own proposal for the state fiscal year 2004-2005 budget, which would reverse some funding cuts for health programs, higher education and welfare services proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Senate Passes Legislation To Allow FDA To Regulate Tobacco Products
The Senate on Thursday “overwhelmingly” approved legislation that would allow FDA for the first time to regulate the manufacture, promotion and sale of cigarettes “in return for an industry-financed buyout of tobacco farmers,” the Washington Post reports.
At Least 59% of U.S. Nursing Homes Have Received Fire Safety Citations, Report Finds
Recent inspections at nursing homes nationwide found that at least 59% have been cited for fire safety violations, but many facilities have not installed sprinklers and smoke detectors because of cost issues, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Thursday, the New York Times reports.
CMS Report Cites Problems at Sutter Hospital in Vallejo
Problems at Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo could have affected patient care, according to a CMS report released Wednesday, the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
Rocklin City Council Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
The Rocklin City Council on Tuesday voted to enact a permanent ban on medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, the Sacramento Bee reports.
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson Announces New Medicare Policy on Obesity Treatments
As expected, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Thursday announced at hearing of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education that the department would remove language from Medicare’s coverage manual that states obesity is not an illness, but the program will not classify obesity as a disease, the Washington Times reports.
The Blue Shield of California Foundation was expected to begin on Thursday a $5 million, year-long program to offer subsidies to about 18,000 low-income families in Los Angeles County who do not receive health insurance from their employers to purchase their own coverage, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
The United States has the “best chance in a decade to finally end this national shame” of having more than 43 million residents without health insurance coverage if President Bush increases the number of uninsured U.S. residents who receive coverage under his health care plan from approximately five million to 25 million, Matt Miller, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and author of the book “The 2% Solution: Fixing America’s Problems in Ways Liberals and Conservatives Can Love,” said Thursday in a commentary on NPR’s “Morning Edition.”
Schering-Plough Agrees To Pay $350 Million To Settle Medicaid Fraud Allegations
New Jersey-based Schering-Plough has agreed to pay $350 million in fines and plead guilty to criminal charges related to Medicaid fraud, according to individuals familiar with the case, the New York Times reports.
U.S. Teenage Birth Rate Decreases to Record Low in 2002, Report Finds
The U.S. teenage birth rate in 2002 reached a record low since the government started collecting statistics on teen births in the 1940s, according to a report released Friday by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, the Los Angeles Times reports.