Latest California Healthline Stories
Assembly Hearing Addresses Problems at King/Drew
A four-hour Assembly hearing on Friday in Willowbrook assessed problems at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center and its affiliated medical school, the Los Angeles Times reports.
California City Council Approves Contract With Emergency Air Ambulance Provider
The California City City Council on Tuesday voted 4-1 to approve an interim agreement with Arizona-based Tri-State Care Flight to provide emergency air ambulance services to eastern Kern County until Jan. 20, the Bakersfield Californian reports.
Democrats, Republicans Launch Campaigns To Promote Positions on New Medicare Law
With many surveys showing that the public has mixed feelings toward the new Medicare law (HR 1), supporters and critics of the legislation are undertaking “aggressive” campaigns to sway the public toward their point of view and claim the issue as their own, the Washington Post reports.
California Healthline Rounds Up Health-Related Initiatives That Could Appear on 2004 Ballots
This year will “potentially [be] one of the busiest initiative years in California history,” including several health-related initiatives, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Schwarzenegger Introduces Budget Containing Proposed Cuts to Health Programs
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) on Friday introduced a $99.1 billion budget proposal for fiscal year 2004-2005 that does not include a tax increase but calls for “significant” spending reductions for various health care programs, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
New York City Jury Awards $20 Million in Punitive Damages in Smoker Lawsuit
A New York City jury on Friday awarded $20 million in punitive damages to the widow of a smoker who died from lung cancer, a verdict that marks the first time a jury in the Northeast has imposed punitive damages on a tobacco company in a lawsuit that involved an individual smoker since an “eventually abandoned” 1988 New Jersey case, the New York Times reports.
Santa Teresita Hospital Closes Emergency Room, Acute Care Facility
Santa Teresita Hospital in Duarte on Friday closed its emergency room and acute care facility in part because of the state’s nursing shortage, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Scripps Encinitas, Scripps Memorial La Jolla Hospitals Terminate Medi-Cal Contracts
Scripps Encinitas and Scripps Memorial La Jolla hospitals this week notified the state that they are terminating their contracts with Medi-Cal and soon will stop accepting nonemergency Medi-Cal patients because of the freeze in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates that took effect Jan. 1, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Monterey County Board of Supervisors To Consider Options for Natividad Medical Center
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors for two months will consider several options presented during a meeting Tuesday for the “financially troubled” county-owned Natividad Medical Center in Salinas, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The United Parcel Service and FedEx have informed the House Energy and Commerce Committee that they have responded to “growing scrutiny” about their roles in the illegal sale of controlled substances and the reimportation of prescription drugs with efforts to “crack down” on online pharmacies that use the companies to deliver medications, the Wall Street Journal reports.