Latest California Healthline Stories
Three Bills on Toxic Chemicals Do Not Pass Because of Legislators’ Abstentions
In the last few weeks of the legislative session, the Legislature defeated three bills addressing substances thought to be harmful to health because they did not receive the minimum support required for passage after moderate Democrats abstained from voting, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Wall Street Journal Looks at One Not-for-Profit Hospital’s Loss of Tax-Exempt Status
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined Provena Covenant Medical Center’s “fight to regain its local property-tax exemption amid questions about financial treatment of the uninsured, including aggressive debt-collection tactics.”
Lieberman Promotes Bill To Reduce Disparities in Minority Health Care
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) last week discussed legislation that aims to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities by giving care providers incentives to improve quality standards for all patients, the Connecticut Post reports.
U.S. Supreme Court To Hear Appeal of Lower Court Decision on Medical Marijuana
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear an appeal filed by Attorney General John Ashcroft of a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that federal drug agents lack authority to arrest seriously ill residents who live in states with laws permitting the use of medical marijuana and who are using the drug under doctors’ supervision, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Atkins Foundation To Use Inherited Fortune of Founder To Study Diet
The Robert C. Atkins Foundation, a charity founded by the late diet doctor Robert Atkins, will fund a number of studies on low-carbohydrate diets with up to $600 million it is set to receive following Atkins’ death last year, the Boston Globe reports.
Anthem, WellPoint Shareholders Approve Acquisition
Anthem and WellPoint Health Networks shareholders on Monday in simultaneous meetings in Indianapolis and California voted to approve a merger between the two health insurers, the Indianapolis Star reports.
Contra Costa Supervisors Expected To Approve 2004-2005 Budget With Funding Cuts to Health Services
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve on Tuesday a $330 million budget proposal for fiscal year 2004-2005 that includes “deep cuts in spending for health and social services,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance Premium Rates Decrease By 13.8% on Average in Past Six Months
After a “steady dose of double-digit annual increases from 2000 to 2003,” the two “major overhauls of the beleaguered” workers’ compensation system have caused premiums to decrease by an average of 13.8% in the past six months, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Schwarzenegger Will Not Release California Performance Review Until State Budget Is Finalized
Representatives for the administration of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Monday announced that the California Performance Review is complete but will not be released to the public until legislators approve the state budget, “so as not to derail an agreement,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
Activist Group Protests St. Vincent Medical Center Over Treatment of Uninsured
More than 1,000 members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now on Sunday gathered in front of St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles to protest the hospital’s alleged denial of treatment to the uninsured, the Los Angeles Times reports.