Latest California Healthline Stories
Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card Sponsors Lobbied, Contributed to Bush Campaign
Companies that received approval from HHS to offer Medicare prescription drug discount cards spent at least $35 million on lobbying expenses in 2003, and the many companies’ employees donated or raised additional “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for President Bush’s re-election campaign, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.
Ventura County Budget Plan Includes Funding, Staffing Cuts for Health Programs
The Ventura County Health Care Agency would not have to close any clinics or significantly reduce public services as part of a fiscal year 2004-2005 budget plan county managers outlined Thursday at a special session with the county Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi Announces ‘Major’ Restructuring Plan
As expected, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi on Friday unveiled a “major revamping” of the VA health care system that will include the construction of two hospitals and 156 outpatient clinics, as well as the closing of two hospitals over the next eight years, the Washington Post reports.
Sacramento Bee Examines Rising Cost of Disability Pensions for Retired Public-Safety Employees
In a special report, the Sacramento Bee on Sunday examined industrial disability medical pensions for retired public-safety personnel, which are a “growing expense” for the state that have “escaped scrutiny” even as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and lawmakers “wrestle with the record deficit.”
House To Consider Three Bills To Address Increased Health Care Costs
House Republican leaders this week plan to hold debate on three bills that would help address increased health care costs to “demonstrate their concern” about the issue, CQ Today reports.
Schwarzenegger Plan To Overhaul State Government Appears Stalled
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) plan to restructure the state government, including 13 entities in the Health and Human Services Agency, was supposed to be submitted to the Legislature before the end of the legislative session, but it appears to “be on hold until next year,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Bush administration officials have acted “like a satellite of the pharmaceutical industry” by “parroting industry PR” and dismissing consumers’ concerns about rising prescription drug costs, Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman Criticizes Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Card Program
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) on Thursday asked HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson to remove from the Medicare Web site pricing information for the new prescription drug discount cards until “accurate information” becomes available, the Hartford Courant reports.
Tenet Healthcare CEO Announces Plans To Move Company Headquarters to Dallas
As expected, Tenet Healthcare CEO Trevor Fetter announced Thursday that the company within a year will move its corporate headquarters from Santa Barbara, Calif., to Dallas, calling the move a “critical step” in an effort to cut costs and implement a “cultural change,” the Dallas Morning News reports.
Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee John Kerry To Launch Health Care Campaign
On Monday, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) will launch a four-day health care-centered campaign and release a staff report that says health insurance premiums have increased more than $2,700 per family over the last four years, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.