Latest California Healthline Stories
PBMs’ Dispute With Pharmacies About Medicare Bill Escalates
A “war” between American pharmacies and the pharmacy benefit managers that would administer the drug benefit under the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) is “heating up,” CongressDaily reports.
Some Law Enforcement Officers Interfere With Needle-Exchange Programs, Report Says
Some injection drug users in the state are reluctant to use locally approved needle-exchange programs because they are afraid of being arrested, according to a Human Rights Watch report released yesterday, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Wall Street Journal Profiles Employer-Sponsored Coverage Bill
The Wall Street Journal today profiles SB 2, which would require employers in California to either provide health insurance to employees or pay into a state fund that would provide such coverage.
Health Care for Increased Life Expectancy Not as Costly as Believed
The cumulative remaining lifetime medical costs for people who are ill at age 70 are about the same as for those who are healthy at the same age, despite the fact that healthy 70-year-olds live about three years longer than unhealthy 70-year-olds, according to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Los Angeles Times Looks at Debate Over Law Criminalizing Knowing HIV Transmission
The Los Angeles Times yesterday considered the debate surrounding a provision in a five-year-old law (SB 705) that criminalizes knowing exposure of a sexual partner to HIV that some California prosecutors say makes it difficult to secure convictions.
A physician at Redding Medical Center who filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the hospital has asked a federal court to investigate the $54 million settlement between the federal government and Redding parent company Tenet Healthcare, the Modesto Bee reports.
Department of Agriculture May Revise Dietary Guidelines To Address Obesity in United States
The Department of Agriculture has proposed new dietary guidelines to include specific calorie recommendations based on age, gender and activity levels, the New York Times reports.
Assembly Approves Bill To Simplify Parental Consent for Sex Education Classes
The Assembly yesterday voted 44-31 to approve a bill (SB 71) that would replace the use of “scattered and sometimes conflicting” parental consent forms for sex education classes with a more streamlined process, the AP/Orange County Register reports.
Health Insurance Premiums Increased 13.9% in Last Year, Survey Finds
Private health insurance premiums rose 13.9% between the spring of 2002 and the spring of 2003, the third consecutive year of double-digit premium increases and the largest such increase since 1990, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust, USA Today reports.
San Francisco-Based Medem Launches Online Diabetes Monitoring Service
San Francisco-based Medem, a for-profit internet company backed by the American Medical Association and other medical societies, yesterday launched a service that will allow people with diabetes to send their glucose readings to their doctors online, the Wall Street Journal reports.