Latest California Healthline Stories
Businesses should expect “modest” reductions in workers’ compensation insurance premiums this year, State Compensation Insurance Fund President Dianne Oki said at a hearing of the Senate Insurance Committee on Thursday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
New FDA Guidelines Require Tissue Banks To Test Donors for Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Tissue banks must test donors and donated tissues for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis and other diseases and ask donors about their risk factors for such diseases, according to new FDA tissue donation regulations released on Thursday, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
San Bernardino County To Combine Inpatient, Outpatient Mental Health Services
San Bernardino County has combined inpatient and outpatient mental health services under a single county Department of Behavior Health manager, interim county Administrative Officer Mark Uffer said Tuesday, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Assembly To Hold Hearing To Investigate Proposed Anthem-WellPoint Health Networks Merger
Democratic Assembly leaders on Thursday ordered a public hearing to investigate the proposed merger between Indiana-based Anthem and California-based WellPoint Health Networks, after state regulators “were set to approve the merger behind closed doors,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Officials Testify Against Prescription Drug Reimportation at Senate Committee Hearing
FDA officials on Thursday “tried to extinguish growing sentiment” in the Senate to allow the reimportation of lower-cost prescription drugs from other nations, CQ Today reports.
Democrats, Republicans Debate New Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Drug Card Program at Hearing
During a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, lawmakers provided different accounts of “confusion among [beneficiaries] about the new Medicare prescription drug cards, long waits for help in choosing the right card and errors in government-listed drug prices,” CongressDaily reports.
Medicare To Pay 8.4% More for Beneficiaries in Managed Care Plans Under New Law, Report Finds
The federal government will pay an average of 8.4% more for Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans than those in traditional fee-for-service Medicare under the new Medicare law, according to a report released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
CalPERS Votes To Drop 38 of Most Costly Hospitals From HMO Network
In a move that is “expected to influence health care purchasing decisions nationwide,” the California Public Employees’ Retirement System on Wednesday voted to drop 38 of the most costly hospitals in its Blue Shield of California HMO network beginning in 2005, the Los Angeles Times reports.
New Federal Guidelines Recommend Routine Blood Pressure Checks for Children
New federal guidelines scheduled to be released at a meeting of the American Society of Hypertension on Thursday recommend that physicians check children for high blood pressure during routine office visits starting at age three and look for possible heart and blood vessel damage in children with high blood pressure, the AP/Washington Post reports.
Senate Approves Legislation To Provide $5.6 Billion for Project BioShield Over 10 Years
The Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would provide $5.6 billion over 10 years to fund Project BioShield, a program that encourages the development of medications and vaccines to treat U.S. residents in the event of a biological, nuclear, radiological or chemical attack, the New York Times reports.