Latest California Healthline Stories
Senate Bill Would Ban Health Insurance Plans That Exclude Maternity Benefits
Under a bill (SB 1555) expected to reach the Senate floor this month, California could become the first state in the nation to ban health insurance plans that exclude maternity benefits, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Blue Cross of California Announces Information Technology Program for Safety Net Physicians
Blue Cross of California on Thursday announced an additional $2 million for a program to provide clinical and administrative technology to 1,040 physicians who provide care to uninsured and low-income California residents as part of an effort to improve efficiency and patient care.
Editorial, Opinion Pieces Examine Issue of the Uninsured
Several newspapers have recently published editorials and opinion pieces in response to “Cover the Uninsured Week,” a media campaign led by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that will run from May 10-May 16 to raise awareness about uninsured people in the United States.
Senate Committee Votes To Approve Amended Health Insurance Regulation Bill
The nine-member Senate Insurance Committee on Wednesday voted to approve a “watered down” version of a bill (SB 1349) that would require health insurers to pay a fee to fund a new state commission that would investigate ways to reduce health care costs, the Associated Press reports.
Senate Passes Medicaid Buy-In Measure for Disabled Children
The Senate on Thursday passed by voice vote a bill (S 622) that would expand Medicaid coverage to “hundreds of thousands” of middle-income families with disabled children, the AP/Columbia State reports.
County Immunization Registries, AIDS Project Los Angeles Denied Funding Allocated in Budget
The Department of Finance has denied requests to exempt a Los Angeles not-for-profit AIDS program and five county programs to improve childhood immunization rates from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) freeze on state contracts announced in December, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Economist Survey on California Examines Effects of SB 2, Other State Laws
The Economist this week in a special survey on California examined the effect of regulations and laws such as SB 2 that are “gradually destroying” the competitive advantage of the state by “snarling up its businesses in unnecessary red tape.”
Nation, States Fail To Provide Adequate Care for Women’s Health, Survey Finds
The United States is failing to meet the health care needs of women as a nation, as well as on a state-by-state basis, according to a report card issued Thursday by the National Women’s Law Center and Oregon Health & Science University, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports.
Members of the Santa Paula City Council on Monday voted unanimously to form a new public health care agency that would work to reopen Santa Paula Memorial Hospital, a 49-bed facility that operated the only emergency department between the cities of Santa Clarita and Ventura, the Ventura County Star reports.
Greater Limits on Outside Income of NIH Employees Needed, Panel Says
The NIH Blue Ribbon Committee on Conflict of Interest Policies on Thursday released a 109-page report calling for greater limitations on the amount and type of compensation that high-level NIH employees can receive from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, the Washington Post reports.