Latest California Healthline Stories
Schwarzenegger Agrees Not To Reduce In-Home Care Workers’ Wages
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Thursday agreed to eliminate from the fiscal year 2004-2005 state budget plan a proposal to reduce wages for people who provide in-home care to seniors and people with developmental disabilities, according to sources briefed on the budget negotiations, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
New Jersey Health Department Issues Hospital Quality Report Cards
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services on Thursday issued a report card that rates how the state’s hospitals care for patients with heart attacks or pneumonia, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
FDA Issues Warning After Counterfeit Viagra Found at Two Pharmacies
FDA regulators have issued an alert after counterfeit versions of Pfizer’s impotence treatment Viagra were found at retail pharmacies in Glendale and Fresno, the Fresno Bee reports.
Prescription Drug Program for Uninsured and Underinsured Hawaii Residents Begins
Hawaii Rx Plus, a state program to provide discount prescription drugs to uninsured or underinsured state residents, began Thursday, the Honolulu Advertiser reports.
Lack of Lung Mucus Causes Infections in Cystic Fibrosis Patients, Study Finds
Contrary to conventional medical belief, cystic fibrosis patients’ lung infections might be caused by a lack of mucus, not an excess, according to a study by researchers at Wake Forest University published Thursday in the current issue of the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Catholic Healthcare West To Close Only Skilled Nursing Homes in Taft
Officials for Catholic Healthcare West on Wednesday said that the company will close its two skilled nursing homes in Taft by the end of August, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
CMS Administrator Mark McClellan Discusses Medicare, Reimportation in Interview
WAMU’s “The Diane Rehm Show,” an NPR-syndicated program, on Tuesday included an interview with CMS Administrator Mark McClellan, who discussed the Medicare prescription drug discount card program, beneficiaries who receive both drug discounts and food stamp benefits, research into the safety of reimporting prescription drugs from other nations and the effect of reimportation on drug development.
CalPERS Announces Policy Change for Medicare Beneficiaries
Some Medicare beneficiaries who have supplemental coverage through CalPERS’ Blue Shield of California Medicare HMO and whose primary care physicians are associated with a Sutter Health medical group that admits patients only to Sutter hospitals must enroll in a preferred provider organization plan to maintain access to their PCPs, CalPERS announced Wednesday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Drug Price Increases Outpace Inflation in First Quarter of 2004, AARP Study Finds
Prescription drug prices rose at a rate nearly three times the rate of inflation in the first three months of 2004, essentially “negating much of the savings” expected to come from the new Medicare drug discount card program, according to a study released Wednesday by the AARP Public Policy Institute, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.
State Regulators Seek To Ensure Access to Care Under Anthem-WellPoint Deal
Department of Managed Health Care Director Cindy Ehnes on Wednesday said regulators are “appropriately struggling” with how best to assure that a merger between Indianapolis-based Anthem and California-based WellPoint Health Networks will not cause a decline in health care for seven million state residents who receive coverage through WellPoint subsidiary Blue Cross of California, the AP/Indianapolis Star reports.