Latest California Healthline Stories
Health and Retirement Benefits To Decrease Over Next 10 Years, Report Finds
Health and retirement benefits for U.S. workers will decrease over the next 10 years, regardless of whether their wages increase, as more companies seek to reduce costs, according to a report recently released by the American Benefits Council, which lobbies lawmakers on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, Bloomberg/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Supporters of a law (SB 2) that will require some employers to provide health insurance to workers or pay into a state fund to provide such coverage “can hardly take solace” in results of a recent Field Poll indicating that 50% of likely voters are in favor of upholding the law because support for the law is declining, according to Sacramento Bee columnist Daniel Weintraub.
Republicans, White House Work To Counter Democratic Criticism of Medicare Prescription Drug Cards
In an effort to put a positive spin on the new Medicare law, HHS since January has been issuing “Medicare Issue of the Day” talking point memos that are designed to help explain the legislation to “anyone who might be interested in the issue,” CongressDaily reports.
University of California-Los Angeles Center Alerts Blood Donors to Possibility of Identity Theft
The University of California-Los Angeles Blood and Platelet Center sent a letter on June 5 to 145,000 donors to notify them that they “could be victims of identity theft” because a laptop containing their names, Social Security numbers, blood types and dates of birth was stolen, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Christian Science Monitor Examines Federal, State Proposals To Address Issue of the Uninsured
The Christian Science Monitor on Thursday examined federal and state solutions to “[f]ix health insurance” in the United States, which is “leaving behind an increasing number of Americans who can’t afford it.”
Oregon Appeals Court Reaffirms $79.5 Million Verdict Against Philip Morris USA
An Oregon appeals court on Wednesday reaffirmed a $79.5 million verdict against tobacco company Philip Morris USA in the case of an Oregon smoker who died of lung cancer, the AP/Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
Questions Arise Over Resume of Acting Assistant Secretary at HHS
Cristina Beato — nominated last July as assistant secretary of health at HHS — may not receive a Senate confirmation hearing over concerns that she “fabricated or inflated” parts of her resume, the Washington Post reports.
Garamendi Raises Concerns Over Anthem-WellPoint Merger, May Not Approve
Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) on Wednesday at a hearing before a joint Assembly and Senate committee said that a proposed $15.5 billion merger between Indiana-based Anthem and California-based WellPoint Health Networks “is not in the best interest” of the state and indicated that he might not approve the agreement, the Los Angeles Times reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Magazine Profiles Dr. Kevin Grumbach
The San Francisco Chronicle Magazine on Sunday profiled Kevin Grumbach, a physician at San Francisco General Hospital, chair of family and community medicine at the University of California-San Francisco and a proponent of a Canadian-style “single-payer” national health care system.
State Supreme Court Rejects R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s Appeal on Magazine Advertisement Case
The state Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously rejected R.J. Reynolds Tobacco’s appeal of a ruling that found the company violated terms of the 1998 national tobacco settlement by targeting cigarette advertisements at minors, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.