Latest California Healthline Stories
Bush Signs ‘Partial-Birth’ Abortion Ban Into Law
President Bush on Wednesday signed a bill (S 3) that bans so-called “partial-birth” abortion, enacting the first federal law to criminalize an established abortion procedure, but a federal judge in Nebraska “minutes” after the measure was signed issued a temporary restraining order preventing the Justice Department from enforcing the law in some states, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Registered Nurses at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas Begin Effort To Unionize
Registered nurses at Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas on Wednesday said that they will petition the National Labor Relations Board for a vote by the end of the year on representation by the California Nurses Association, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
House Member Introduces Bill To Require Chains To List Calories
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on Wednesday introduced a bill that would require restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to list caloric, trans fat, saturated fat and sodium information next to each item on menus or menu boards, the Washington Times reports.
Drug Companies Have Paid $1.6 Billion Since 2001 To Settle Whistleblower Suits
Six pharmaceutical companies have paid a total of $1.6 billion since 2001 to settle seven whistleblower lawsuits alleging marketing, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, according to a report released Wednesday by the Taxpayers Against Fraud, the New York Times reports.
PacifiCare Health Systems Third-Quarter Profit Increases 54%
Officials for Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems on Wednesday announced that third-quarter net income rose 54% to $67.5 million, or $1.72 per share, from $43.8 million, or $1.20 per share, a year earlier, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Negotiators for Los Angeles County, County Employees Union Reach Agreement
After nearly 24 hours of negotiations, Los Angeles County officials and leaders of Service Employees International Union Local 660 — the county’s largest employee union — on Wednesday reached an agreement that would preserve workers’ health benefits and include wage increases, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Congress Should Approve Measure To Allow Reimportation, Los Angeles Times Editorial States
Negotiations on a final Medicare bill are “imperiled by partisan disagreements” over a number of provisions in the legislation, but the “good news is that at least one consumer-friendly reform may survive”: a measure that would allow U.S. residents to reimport lower-cost U.S.-manufactured prescription drugs from Canada, a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
Orange County Deputy Sheriff’s Union Will Disclose Costs of Health Coverage
The continuing debate over Orange County’s health insurance payments for its deputy sheriffs “escalated” this week as two county supervisors “demanded” that the union that represents the deputies disclose how much it spends on health care, the Los Angles Times reports.
Knight Ridder Series Examines Off-Label Prescription Drug Use
In a recently published three-part series called “Risky Prescriptions,” Knight Ridder/Charlotte Observer examined safety issues surrounding off-label use of prescription drugs, in which physicians prescribe medications for uses not specifically approved by the FDA.
Medication Made From Synthetic HDL Cholesterol Can Help Remove Artery Blockages, Study Finds
A drug made from a synthetic form of HDL, known as “good” cholesterol, can quickly stop and sometimes reduce blockages of plaque in artery walls that can lead to heart attacks, according to a small preliminary study published in Wednesday’s issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Washington Post reports.