Latest California Healthline Stories
Canned Tuna Must Warn of Unhealthy Mercury Levels, Lockyer Lawsuit States
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) on Monday filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court against the nation’s three largest tuna canners for allegedly failing to comply with Proposition 65, a state law requiring businesses to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning on any product that could cause reproductive harm or cancer, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Orders Review of Cases Involving Medical Marijuana Distributors
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on Friday ordered federal judges to reconsider their decisions against medical marijuana dispensaries in Oakland, Santa Cruz, Fairfax and Ukiah because of the court’s December 2003 ruling that federal drug laws apply only in cases that involve interstate commerce, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Accounting Board To Approve Rules To Require Public Employers To Report Retiree Health Benefit Costs
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board, an independent not-for-profit organization, is set to give final approval this week to new rules that will require state and local governments to measure and report the long-term costs of providing retiree health benefits to employees, the New York Times reports.
BlueCross BlueShield Association Plans Lower Premium Rate Increases in 2004
Facing “political pressure” after a “banner 2003,” not-for-profit Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are lowering their health care premium rate increases this year, which has contributed to a “wider slowdown” in health premium rate increases for some employers and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
GlaxoSmithKline To Post All Clinical Trial Results for Certain Products on Web Site
Officials for GlaxoSmithKline on Friday announced that the company would create a Web site to publicly list results of all clinical trials for its marketed prescription drugs, the New York Times reports.
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Endorses Bond Measure To Fund Stem Cell Research
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce on Friday endorsed a nearly $3 billion bond measure to fund embryonic stem cell research that will appear on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Community Health Centers Assumes Control of San Luis Obispo County’s Family Care Clinics
Community Health Centers of the Central Coast has assumed management of four San Luis Obispo County Family Care Centers and two part-time clinics, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.
One dozen representatives from the state’s not-for-profit children’s hospitals last week in Washington, D.C., lobbied for “high-profile national endorsements” for a bond measure that would fund renovations at the state’s 13 facilities, the Modesto Bee reports.
California an Obstacle in Anthem-WellPoint Merger
The Indianapolis Star on Monday examined challenges — including hearings by California regulators and legislators — facing Indianapolis-based Anthem officials as they attempt to gain approval for a proposed $16.4 billion merger with Thousand Oaks-based WellPoint Health Networks.
Rocklin City Council Votes To Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
The Rocklin City Council on Thursday in an emergency session voted 5-0 to ban medical marijuana dispensaries, possibly becoming the state’s first city to prohibit such establishments, the Sacramento Bee reports.