Latest California Healthline Stories
Los Angeles County Agency Launches $100 Million Program To Provide Health Care to Children
Representatives from First 5 L.A. on Monday announced the launch of the Healthy Kids initiative, a $100 million program intended to provide free and low-cost medical, dental and vision services to all children in the county younger than age six, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Chances of Final Passage of Medicare Legislation Are 50-50, Some Observers Say
With members of the conference committee charged with reconciling the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) scheduled to meet today for the first time since July, some key lawmakers and lobbyists have said the chance of passing a final compromise bill may be only 50-50, the Los Angeles Times reports.
California Nurses Association, St. Joseph’s Health System Reach Tentative Contract Agreement
The California Nurses Association, which represents 150 nurses at Petaluma Valley Hospital, has reached a tentative agreement with St. Joseph Health System on a 30-month contract that includes a 25% wage increase, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Camino Medical Group Withdraws Bid To Build Facility in Mountain View
The Camino Medical Group, a division of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, has withdrawn its bid to build a $100 million, 200,000-square-foot facility in Mountain View, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
CDC To ‘Re-Energize’ Efforts To Address Smallpox Preparedness
The CDC this fall will try to “re-energize smallpox preparedness” by focusing on efforts to vaccinate civilian emergency workers and analyze each state’s ability to handle an outbreak, the Dallas Morning News reports.
Assembly Approves Bill To Ban Ephedra Products
The Assembly yesterday voted 44-23 to approve a bill (SB 582) that would ban the sale of dietary supplements that contain ephedra, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Legislature Likely To Consider Employer-Paid Health Care Bill This Week
The Legislature, which adjourns Friday, this week likely will consider a bill (SB 2) that would require many employers in the state to provide employees with health insurance or pay into a state fund that would provide coverage, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Consumer Reports Examines Service at Drugstores, Health Plans
The October issue of Consumer Reports examines independent and chain drugstores, and it also compares HMOs and preferred provider plans.
Hospitals Performing More Heart Bypass Surgeries Have Fewer Fatalities, Survey Finds
Statewide fatality rates in hospitals from heart bypass surgery “vary considerably,” but the best results appear in facilities that treat the most patients, according to a survey released yesterday by the state and the Pacific Business Group on Health, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Fewer Beneficiaries To Be Dropped From Medicare+Choice Plans in 2004
The rate of health plans leaving Medicare+Choice “will slow to a trickle” next year, with about 39,000 beneficiaries expected to lose M+C coverage in 2004, according to an American Association of Health Plans survey, the New York Times reports.