Latest California Healthline Stories
Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. John Kerry Wins in Contests in Michigan, Washington and Maine
Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Saturday “crushed his opponents” and “pushed on toward securing his party’s presidential nomination” with wins in the Democratic primaries in Washington state and Michigan, the Washington Times reports.
One month after new nurse-to-patient ratios took effect, registered nurses are reporting improvements in staffing conditions at California hospitals, according to a survey by the California Nurses Association, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Consumer Group Asks Schwarzenegger To Cancel Fundraiser Because of Uncollected Medi-Cal Rebates
Consumer group Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights on Friday called on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to cancel a New York fundraiser to be hosted by Robert Wood Johnson, an heir and stockholder of pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, because of a possible conflict of interest in collecting money that prescription drug firms owe the state, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Minorities Underrepresented in Health Care Professions, IOM Report Finds
Some U.S. minority populations are underrepresented in health care professions, a situation that could prove problematic because minority health providers “are significantly more likely than their white peers to serve minority and medically underserved communities,” according to an Institute of Medicine report released Thursday.
FDA To Work With SEC To Regulate Pharmaceutical Company Statements
FDA and the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday outlined new measures “to enhance the public’s protection against false and misleading information” issued by FDA-regulated companies about their drugs’ development, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.
Democrats Continue Criticism of New Medicare Cost Estimate
During a Senate Budget Committee hearing Thursday, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten addressed lawmakers’ concerns about President Bush’s fiscal year 2005 budget proposal, including higher-than-anticipated costs for the new Medicare law (HR 1), CongressDaily reports.
Daily Calorie, Carbohydrate Intake Has Increased Over Past 30 Years, CDC Study Finds
Between 1971 and 2000, U.S. residents’ daily caloric intake rose by more than 7% on average for men and 20% for women, and a greater portion of the extra calories was obtained from carbohydrates, according to a CDC study published Thursday in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the New York Times reports.
FDA Among ‘Biggest Winners’ in Bush’s FY 2005 Budget Proposal, Washington Post Reports
The FDA, which will receive an almost 9% funding increase to boost food safety programs and expand construction of a new campus, is among the “biggest winners” in President Bush’s budget proposal for the fiscal year 2005, the Washington Post reports.
At the request of state officials, the director of a state program to treat low-income uninsured men with prostate cancer this week submitted contingency plans to treat patients through June 30 — the end of the state’s fiscal year — or through Dec. 31, depending upon how much funding is available for the program following state funding cuts, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Senate, Assembly Committees To Hold Hearings on Workers’ Compensation Reform
The Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee this month will hold hearings on legislation to reduce employers’ workers’ compensation insurance premium rates, but Committee Chair Richard Alarcon (D-Van Nuys) said that legislation will not be finished by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) March 1 deadline, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.