Latest California Healthline Stories
Providers, Patients ‘Figuring Out’ HIPAA Medical Privacy Rule, ‘All Things Considered’ Reports
Health care providers have begun “figuring things out” with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act medical privacy rule, which took effect last April, but “some glitches remain,” NPR’s “All Things Considered” reports.
Santa Paula City Council Orders an Evaluation of Builder’s Offer To Buy Hospital
The Santa Paula City Council on Thursday voted to direct City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz to evaluate a developer’s proposal to buy Santa Paula Memorial Hospital and complete a report by April 19, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The deaths of two patients over a one-month period at Riverside Community Hospital resulted from “serious deficiencies” in emergency services, staff and management, according to a Department of Health Services report, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Ban on Ephedra Takes Effect on Monday; Federal Judge Rejects Request for Stay
The FDA ban on dietary supplements containing ephedra was implemented as scheduled on Monday after U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano in Newark, N.J., refused to grant a stay on the ban pending resolution of a lawsuit brought by two ephedra product manufacturers against the government, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Wall Street Journal Examines Prospects for Prescription Drug Reimportation Bill
The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday examined how legislation that would allow U.S. residents to purchase prescription drugs from other nations “could be one of the few bills to draw bipartisan support this election year.”
Scripps Encinitas, Scripps Memorial La Jolla Hospitals Extend Medi-Cal Contracts
Scripps Encinitas and Scripps Memorial La Jolla hospitals will continue to provide nonemergency care to Medi-Cal beneficiaries after agreeing to extend their contracts with the state for another year, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Pension Bill Passed by Congress Could Block Lawsuit Filed Against Medical Resident Match Program
Language that was “quietly inserted” into a pension bill passed in the Senate last week and in the House the previous week may derail an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the National Resident Matching Program for young doctors “artificially keeps wages low and hours long because hospitals can share salary information and force residents to accept below-market salaries,” the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
HHS Official Warns Physicians About Additional Fees for ‘Boutique’ Care for Medicare Beneficiaries
Physicians who treat Medicare beneficiaries and charge additional fees for “boutique” care could face fines or expulsion from the program, an HHS official announced last week, the New York Times reports.
Hospitals Becoming More Economically Competitive, Report Finds
A “fundamental shift” has occurred in the way economic power is held and used in health care business relationships, according to the “California Health Care Market Report 2004” released Wednesday by the California HealthCare Foundation, the Stockton Record reports.
The “final shape” of the Nov. 2 statewide ballot “remains an open question” as supporters of some initiatives — including a measure to repeal a law (SB 2) requiring some employers to provide health insurance to employees and measures to fund mental health and emergency services and embryonic stem cell research — work to collect the signatures required to qualify the measures for the ballot by Friday’s deadline, the Sacramento Bee reports.