Latest California Healthline Stories
The board of the union representing mechanics employed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority who began a strike last month will meet Monday to discuss whether members should vote on the MTA’s latest contract proposal, union President Neil Silver said, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Lawmakers, Policy Analysts Consider Potential Effects of Proposed Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
As the conference committee tasked with reconciling the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) continues its work, lawmakers and policy analysts are taking a closer look at negotiators’ tentative agreement on a drug benefit, the Newark Star-Ledger reports.
CMS Launches Home Health Agency Quality Database
CMS on Monday launched a database that will allow U.S. residents to compare the quality of home health agencies from state to state, the AP/Boston Herald reports.
Sacramento Bee Examines Recent Law on ‘Morning-After’ HIV Treatments
The Sacramento Bee on Sunday examined a recently enacted state law (AB 879) that could “mark the first step” toward increasing access to medications that may help prevent HIV infection if taken immediately after exposure.
Marin County Cancer Rates Above Average, Preliminary Study Results Indicate
Breast cancer rates in Marin County are higher than rates in 33 demographically similar counties nationwide, and overall cancer rates in Marin are higher than the national average, researchers from the University of California-San Francisco’s Family Health Outcomes Project said Friday, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles has requested documents dating back to 1998 related to coronary procedures and billing practices at three major Los Angeles area hospitals owned by Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare, the Los Angeles Times reports.
California Healthline Features Recent Editorial, Opinion Pieces on Health Care Cost Issues
California Healthline examines a recent editorial and several recent opinion pieces that address health care cost issues.
Twenty-two members of Congress have sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft that requests an investigation of pharmaceutical companies that have restricted supplies to Canadian wholesalers and pharmacies to determine whether the companies have violated federal antitrust laws, the New York Times reports.
Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger’s (R) ability to work with the Legislature to close a predicted $8 billion budget shortfall for fiscal year 2004-2005 will “make or break” his political legacy and will likely require cuts in funds for health programs, Jennifer Nelson, a policy writer, writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece.
San Jose Mercury News Examines Growing Popularity of Professional Health Programs
The San Jose Mercury News on Monday examined the increased number of former dot-com workers and younger students entering into health care training programs at Silicon Valley universities and community colleges following the collapse of the region’s technology industry.