Latest California Healthline Stories
Advocacy Program Helps Bay Area Children Make Transition From Hospital to School
The San Jose Mercury News on Monday examined a program intended to help “medically fragile” children in the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding communities make the transition from hospitals to schools.
IBM Retirees Challenge Increased Cost of Health Benefits
IBM retirees are challenging the company on recent changes to their health care benefits that pass along cost increases to retirees, Reuters/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Trinity Hospital May Close Without Funds for Roof Repair
Trinity County officials may have to close Trinity Hospital in Weaverville if the facility cannot secure $1.5 million to repair a leaky roof, county Supervisor Billie Miller said, the Los Angeles Times reports.
USA Today Examines ‘New Push’ in Genetic Research Into Autism
USA Today on Monday examined the “new push for autism answers, fueled by new technology, new funding and, perhaps most important, a heightened public awareness” about the disease.
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Recommends Downgrading King/Drew Neonatal Unit
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services has recommended that Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center’s neonatal care unit be “downgraded” from a regional unit to an intermediate care unit, which would restrict the facility’s services for newborns in intensive care and infants who need ventilators to breathe for more than four hours, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lawmakers To Reintroduce Bill To Legalize Over-the-Counter Sale of Syringes
Only 25% of counties in the state currently operate needle exchange programs, despite a 1999 law allowing them to do so, and state legislators are planning to reintroduce a bill as early as next month that would allow limited over-the-counter sales of syringes, the Los Angeles Times reports.
HHS To Release New Tobacco Report, Database This Year
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and Surgeon General Richard Carmona on Saturday announced that this year they will issue a new report on tobacco and health and launch a new database of information on tobacco-related diseases and tobacco cessation.
Washington Post Examines Increased Health Insurer Audits of Physician Claims
The Washington Post on Monday looked at the “growing concern among private and government health insurers about the accuracy of physicians’ claims and the system for calculating reimbursements.”
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Express Scripts Faces Lawsuit From Two New York Labor Groups
Two New York state labor groups, the Organization of New York State Management Confidential Employees and United University Professions, on Sunday announced that they have filed a lawsuit against St. Louis-based pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts over allegations that the company withheld rebates and inflated prescription drug prices, the AP/Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel reports.
FDA Might Take Legal Action Against Reimportation Programs, Agency Commissioner Mark McClellan Says
FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan has said that the agency might take legal action against states or cities that implement programs to reimport lower-cost, U.S.-manufactured prescription drugs from Canada, the AP/Boston Herald reports.