Latest California Healthline Stories
Cost of New Medicare Law Expected To Exceed $530 Billion Over 10 Years
The new Medicare law (HR 1) will cost $534 billion over the next 10 years, $134 billion more than previously estimated, Bush administration officials have concluded, the Washington Post reports.
The Bush administration on Thursday announced that its fiscal year 2005 budget, which will be unveiled Monday, will include a proposal to spend $274 million for preparedness efforts against bioterrorist attacks and other threats to public health, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Public Likely Will Reject Health Coverage Law When They Learn of Cost, Editorial States
When the public learns about the “multibillion dollar price tag” of a new state law (SB 2) that requires some companies to provide health insurance to workers or pay into a state fund that would provide such coverage, opinion polls that show widespread support for the mandate are “likely to change,” a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial states.
CMS Report Criticizes Quality of Care at King/Drew Medical Center
Nurses at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center were told to lie about patients’ conditions, failed to administer drugs prescribed by doctors and left critically ill patients unattended for hours, according to a CMS report, the Los Angeles Times reports.
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni Defends Sexual Health-Related Studies in Letter to Lawmakers
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni this week sent a letter to House and Senate members defending his agency’s funding of research related to sexual health, including AIDS, the New York Times reports.
Support for Medical Marijuana Initiative Increases Since Passage, Field Poll Finds
Support for Proposition 215, the 1996 ballot initiative allowing state physicians to recommend marijuana to sick patients, has increased “dramatically” among voters since the time it was approved, according to a survey conducted by Field Poll, the Sacramento Bee reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Opinion Pieces Consider Universal Health Coverage Proposals
The San Francisco Chronicle on Friday featured two opinion pieces that look at options to achieve universal health care.
Consulting Firm Recommends Changes to Alameda County Medical Center
The Alameda County Medical Center Board of Trustees on Monday received general recommendations from consulting firm Cambio Health Solutions similar to those included in the Center’s 2004 budget to reduce its estimated $71 million deficit, the Oakland Tribune reports.
States Likely To Make More Medicaid Cuts in FY 2005, New Studies Find
States might make more aggressive cost-containment actions in their Medicaid programs in the next fiscal year, as financial pressures intensify with the expiration of a one-time federal subsidy, according to a series of reports from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Democrats Continue To Attack New Medicare Law
Democrats in both the House and Senate “continue to lash out” at the new Medicare law (HR 1), while Republicans head to Philadelphia for their annual retreat to discuss “how to sell” the legislation to seniors, CongressDaily reports.