Latest California Healthline Stories
Sen. Blanche Lincoln Introduces Legislation To Revise New Medicare Law
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) on Thursday proposed a bill that would eliminate from the new Medicare law health savings accounts and financial incentives to encourage private health plans to participate in the program, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
The federal government is stepping up efforts to prevent fraud and abuse in the new Medicare prescription drug discount card program in the wake of reports of scams in about 13 states, CMS Administrator Mark McClellan said Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
Secondhand Smoke Can Increase Heart Attack Risk for Cardiac Patients, CDC Says
In a commentary to a study published Thursday in BMJ, CDC is warning people with cardiac problems that being exposed to secondhand smoke for as few 30 minutes can significantly increase heart attack risk, the Washington Post reports.
EEOC Approves Rule To Allow Employers To Eliminate Health Benefits for Retirees Ages 65 and Older
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday voted 3-1 to approve a final rule allowing employers to reduce or eliminate health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare coverage at age 65, stating that such cuts do not violate civil rights law on age discrimination, the New York Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Administration Withdraws Support for Some Funding Cuts to Home Care Programs
As expected, officials in Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) administration “abruptly abandoned” a proposal in the governor’s fiscal year 2004-2005 budget that would have eliminated funding for a program providing home care workers for low-income residents, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Leapfrog Group To Launch Voluntary Survey of Hospital Safety Practices
The Leapfrog Group, a coalition of large U.S. businesses focused on improving health care quality, on Monday will launch a new, comprehensive hospital rating survey that is ultimately designed to help patients better assess hospital safety, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Study Indicates That SARS Virus May Be Airborne
The SARS virus — a respiratory tract infection that last year sickened 8,400 people in 29 countries and caused more than 900 deaths — can spread through the air, not just through close physical contact with people infected with the virus, as previously thought, according to a study published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Washington Post reports.
U.S. District Court Allows Santa Cruz Collective To Grow Medical Marijuana
U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose on Wednesday ruled that Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana in Santa Cruz, which the federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided two years ago, can grow and distribute marijuana for medical use while its civil lawsuit against the federal government is pending, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Senators Introduce Bill To Allow Reimportation of Prescription Drugs From Other Nations
As expected, a bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday introduced a bill (S 2328) that would allow the reimportation of prescription drugs from other nations, the New York Times reports.