Latest California Healthline Stories
Republicans May Propose Caps on Medical Malpractice Awards for Obstetrics, Rural Care
Congressional Republicans this fall may introduce legislation that caps medical malpractice lawsuit awards only in cases involving obstetrical care and medically underserved or rural areas, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Physicians Disagree on Class-Action Suit Settlement With Cigna
Physicians who filed a class-action lawsuit alleging unfair reimbursement practices against Cigna and seven other HMOs are divided over Cigna’s expected offer today of a $540 million settlement, the Miami Herald reports.
Assembly Approves Senate Amendments to Domestic Partner Health Benefits Bill
The Assembly yesterday voted 41-32 to approve amendments passed by the Senate to a bill (AB 205) that would expand legal, financial, employment and health benefits to same-sex, registered domestic partners, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Patient Advocates, Providers Respond to Administration Proposal To Alter EMTALA Rules
While some patient advocates are questioning the Bush administration’s proposed changes to a 1986 law requiring hospitals to examine and treat people needing emergency care, hospitals and administration officials contend that the change will not weaken emergency patient care, the Washington Post reports.
Fair Political Practices Commission Sues Proposition 54 Sponsor
The Fair Political Practices Commission, California’s campaign watchdog commission, yesterday filed a lawsuit against University of California Regent Ward Connerly and his American Civil Rights Coalition, alleging that they are violating state campaign fund disclosure laws by failing to report the sources of more than $1.9 million in contributions used to support Proposition 54, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Insurance Commissioner Cuts Malpractice Insurance Increase
Acting on the recommendation of an administrative law judge, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) cut SCPIE Holdings’ malpractice insurance rate increase for 9,000 state doctors to 9.9% from 15.6%, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center Loses Accreditation To Teach General Surgeons
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has revoked its accreditation to teach general surgeons at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Legislators, Advocates Call for Removal From Market of Condoms With Spermicide
In an open letter to the FDA and condom manufacturers, California state lawmakers, HIV/AIDS advocates and women’s advocacy groups last week asked the country’s largest producers of condoms to stop using the spermicide nonoxynol-9, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Democratic Presidential Candidate Lieberman Introduces Health Care Proposal
Presidential candidate Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) yesterday outlined an “incremental and relatively frugal” plan to reduce the number of uninsured U.S. residents by three-quarters, the Hartford Courant reports.
California residents should look to the federal government for financial support because the state has continuously “gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to … Medicaid funding,” Grantland Johnson, secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency, writes in a San Francisco Chronicle opinion piece.