Latest California Healthline Stories
Tauzin ‘Weeks Away’ From Decision on Whether To Take PhRMA Position, Spokesperson Says
House Energy and Commerce Chair Billy Tauzin (R-La.) is “weeks away” from announcing a decision about whether he will leave Congress to head the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, according to Tauzin spokesperson Ken Johnson, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.
Health Care Among New Hampshire Voters’ Top Concerns as They Head to Democratic Primary
Recent polls of New Hampshire residents have indicated that health care and other domestic issues have replaced the “controversial U.S.-led invasion of Iraq” as the “hot-button” issues among Democratic voters in the state, the Boston Globe reports.
President Bush Promotes Health Care Proposals in Radio Address
Building upon several health care issues addressed in his State of the Union address last week, President Bush used his weekly radio address on Saturday to discuss proposals to lower the number of uninsured in the United States and reduce health costs, in part by capping noneconomic damage awards in medical malpractice cases, the AP/Tennessean reports.
Health Plan of the Redwoods Creditors To Receive 37 Cents on the Dollar, Federal Judge Rules
Creditors of the bankrupt insurer Health Plan of the Redwoods will receive an estimated 37 cents on the dollar, according to a fund distribution plan approved Friday by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Alan Jaroslovsky, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Los Angeles County Launches Medical Services for Homeless Program
As expected, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority has begun providing expanded medical services at all of its winter and wet weather shelters as part of the Homeless Mobile Health Program, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Inspection of Prescription Drug Imports From Canada Raises Safety Concerns
A second FDA “blitz” inspection of prescription drugs imported from Canada found that most of the 2,000 packages examined contained foreign versions of U.S. medications that agency officials said “might not be safe,” the New York Times reports.
Antioch Planning Commissioners Approve Plan for Kaiser Permanente Hospital
Antioch planning commissioners last week voted unanimously to approve Kaiser Permanente’s plans to build a 150-bed hospital in southeast Antioch, marking the first step in the approval process for the facility, the Contra Costa Times reports.
FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan Candidate for CMS Administrator Position
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has lobbied for FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan to become the new CMS administrator, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would require emergency room physicians nationwide to report and in some cases fingerprint undocumented immigrants that they treat, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.
King/Drew Supporters Protest Proposed Changes at Medical Center
More than 200 supporters of the Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center rallied on Friday in in the Watts neighborhood to protest proposed budget cuts, service reductions and other changes to the hospital, including the proposed change in status for the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, the Los Angeles Times reports.