Latest California Healthline Stories
California Privacy Laws Should Apply Broadly to State Residents’ Medical Information, Senator Writes
California residents’ medical information “is too important to treat so casually,” Sen. Liz Figueroa (D-Fremont) writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece, citing an incident last year in which a medical transcriptionist based abroad threatened to disclose records of University of California-San Francisco Medical Center patients if she did not receive additional payment.
Unionized Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Employees Reject Contract Offer
Unionized Alta Bates Summit Medical Center employees, who are represented by the Service Employees International Union Local 250, on Friday announced that 90% of voting members cast ballots to reject the Sutter Health facility’s proposal for a new contract, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
GOP Lawmakers Hold Town Meetings on New Medicare Law in Districts of Democratic Lawmakers
Democratic spokespeople said that they are “unfazed and a bit amused” that Republican senators and representatives are holding town meetings about the new Medicare discount drug plan in the congressional districts of Democrats who voted against the law, CQ Weekly reports.
Sacramento Bee Opinion Pieces Address Reimportation Legislation
Two Sacramento Bee opinion pieces on Friday addressed a package of bills to address prescription drug prices that is currently under consideration by the Legislature, including AB 1957, which would create a state Web site to help residents purchase lower-cost, U.S.-made prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies.
Alameda County Budget Proposal Includes Funding Cuts for Indigent, Mental Health Care
Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi on Thursday proposed a fiscal year 2004-2005 budget to the County Board of Supervisors that could eliminate community clinic and mental health services for thousands of uninsured county residents, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Seniors Have Negative Impressions of Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card Program, Report Finds
Seniors are “confused and generally negative” about the new Medicare prescription drug discount card program and the drug benefit that will be available in 2006, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation report released Thursday, CongressDaily reports.
Initiative To Fund Stem Cell Research Qualifies for November Ballot
Secretary of State Kevin Shelley (D) on Thursday certified for the Nov. 2 statewide ballot an initiative that would raise an average of $295 million annually to promote stem cell research through the issue of state bonds, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
An alliance of five American Indian health care advocacy groups recently launched a $400,000 campaign to lobby state and federal legislators not to reduce funding for Indian health clinics in the fiscal year 2004-2005 state budget, the AP/Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
House Subcommittee Approves Bill Allowing Some Foreign Doctors To Practice in United States
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security, and Claims on Thursday approved a bill (HR 4453) that would extend a visa program that allows HHS to request that the Immigration and Naturalization Service waive return-home requirements for some foreign doctors who trained in the United States under J-1 Visas, CQ Today reports.
HHS Denies Illinois Request To Allow Reimportation of Prescription Drugs
HHS officials on Thursday officially denied a petition from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) for approval to launch a state pilot program to reimport lower-cost, U.S.-manufactured prescription drugs from Canada, the Chicago Tribune reports.