Latest California Healthline Stories
Panel Will Investigate NIH Conflict of Interest Allegations, Director Tells Senate Subcommittee
NIH Director Elias Zerhouni on Thursday told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education that a panel chaired by two “highly respected scientists from the public and private sectors” will investigate allegations of conflict of interest among NIH employees who received consulting fees and stock options from drug companies, the Washington Post reports.
Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, director of STD Prevention and Control Services at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and other public health officials are considering legal action against AOL and other Web sites to require them to post warnings in chat rooms about sexually transmitted disease outbreaks among men who have sex with men, Wired News reports.
Medicare Seminar Company Contests Federal Fine
La Mesa-based U.S. Seminar Corp. is contesting in federal court a $1 million fine levied against the company by HHS for its marketing tactics, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
FDA Requires More Tissue Banks To Register With Agency
The FDA on Wednesday announced that fertility clinics, sperm banks and other tissue banks, including those that handle stem cells, will be required to register with the agency within 60 days to comply with the long-delayed implementation of tissue safety regulations proposed in 1997, the AP/Dallas Morning News reports.
Los Angeles Times Considers Effects of Proposed State Budget on Health Care, Other Industries
The Los Angeles Times on Thursday looked at the reaction of the California business community, including the health care industry, to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) fiscal year 2004-2005 budget proposal.
Burton To Introduce Bill To Reimport Prescription Drugs From Canada for Prisoners
Senate President Pro Tempore John Burton (D-San Francisco) said Wednesday that he will unveil legislation calling for the reimportation of lower-cost, U.S.-made prescription drugs from Canada for prisoners, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
California Endowment President Addresses Health Care ‘Crisis’ in Opinion Piece
“The health care crisis rumbling through California has extended its reach beyond low-income, working families,” Robert Ross, president and CEO of the California Endowment, writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece, noting that safety net health care facilities statewide “are weighing service cuts and layoffs.”
VA Secretary May Face Lawsuit for Alleged Failure To Publicize Health Benefits Information
Rep. Ted Strickland (D-Ohio) said Wednesday that he and Vietnam Veterans of America President Thomas Corey plan to file a suit Thursday against Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi for failing to publicize health care benefits information for veterans and their families, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
State Agency Issues Bonds To Fund Health Facility Renovations in Butte County
The California Statewide Communities Development Authority recently approved and issued $8.7 million in bonds to fund renovations at three community medical clinics in Butte County this year, the Chico Enterprise-Record reports.
Obesity Accounted for $75 Billion in U.S. Health Care Costs in 2003, Report Finds
Obese U.S. residents accumulated $75 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2003, and about half of those costs were paid for by Medicare and Medicaid, according to a study to be published Friday in Obesity Research, USA Today reports.