Latest California Healthline Stories
The federal government is allowing Redding Medical Center more time to convince officials not to bar the hospital from participating in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, HHS Office of Inspector General spokesperson Don White said Thursday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
House, Senate Negotiators Expand Discussions on Final Medicare Bill, Reach No Agreements
Negotiators charged with reconciling the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) on Thursday expanded their discussions to include how to structure a new Medicare drug benefit, but they reached no new agreements, CongressDaily/AM reports.
House Approves Bill To Ban So-Called ‘Partial-Birth’ Abortion
The House on Thursday voted 281-142 to approve a bill (S 3) that would ban so called “partial-birth” abortion, the Washington Post reports.
Community Memorial Hospital CEO Resigns at Request of Board
Michael Bakst on Tuesday resigned as CEO of Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura after athe hospital’s board voted to request his departure in an effort to begin resolving issues between the hospital and its physicians, the Ventura County Star reports.
NIH Director Zerhouni Discusses Plans for New Agency ‘Roadmap’ at Joint Congressional Hearing
At a joint hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and House Energy and Commerce committees on Thursday, NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni discussed the “NIH Roadmap” plan he announced earlier this week, CongressDaily reports.
Davis Signs Six Bills Related to Reproductive Health
Gov. Gray Davis (D) on Thursday signed six bills related to the provision of emergency contraception, sex education and other reproductive health measures, the AP/San Diego Union Tribune reports.
HHS May Implement Prescription Drug Reimportation Bill if Enacted
Although the Bush administration has expressed opposition to legislation that would allow U.S. residents to import prescription drugs from other nations, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has said that they would implement such a bill if the legislation did not require him to certify the safety of such medications, according to Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), The Hill reports.
Camino Medical Group Renews Proposal To Build Health Clinic in Mountain View
The Camino Medical Group, a division of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, has renewed a proposal to build a $100 million health clinic in Mountain View with an offer to make a $5 million donation toward a new city senior center, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
FDA Advisory Panel To Consider Silicone Breast Implant Approval
The FDA has scheduled an Oct. 14 meeting of an advisory panel to consider an application from Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Inamed for approval of its silicone breast implants, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Group Questions Effect of Health Care Provider Ratings
Although quality ratings of health care providers can be “vitally important” to consumers, the public release of the ratings may not be conveying the message that the ratings organizations intended, a group representing organizations that developed quality ratings of health care providers found, the Stockton Record reports.