Latest California Healthline Stories
President Bush Asks Pharmaceutical Companies To Support Medicare Reform
President Bush yesterday asked drug makers to support a congressional effort to create a Medicare drug benefit, noting that under his “vision” for Medicare reform, the government would not mandate which medicines would be covered, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved a $16.9 billion fiscal year 2003-2004 budget plan that spares some proposed budget cuts but eliminates nearly 2,000 jobs, mostly in the county health services and child support services departments, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld 6-3 a lower-court decision that said that the Children’s Internet Protection Act — which requires public libraries that receive federal funding to put anti-pornography Internet filters on their computers or lose their funding — does not violate the First Amendment, the Washington Post reports.
Los Angeles Times Examines Effort To Allow Naturopathic Practitioners To Perform Some Procedures
The Los Angeles Times yesterday examined an effort by naturopathic practitioners in California to be licensed by the state to offer medical services that they currently cannot provide.
Sierra View District Hospital Joins Local Colleges in Developing Nurse Education Program
In an effort to alleviate its nursing shortage, Porterville-based Sierra View District Hospital has joined with area community colleges to develop a two-year registered nurse training program, the Fresno Bee reports.
State Compensation Insurance Fund Did Not Inflate Premiums, Judge Rules
San Francisco Superior Court Judge John Munter last week ruled that the State Compensation Insurance Fund — the workers’ compensation insurer of last resort for California businesses — did not overcharge employers, the Los Angeles Times reports.
HMO Premium Rates Could Rise 18% Next Year, Hewitt Associates Data Find
HMO premiums could increase by as much as 18% in 2004, according to preliminary data released yesterday by benefits consultant Hewitt Associates, the Washington Post reports.
State Supreme Court Overturns Proposition 36 Ruling
The California Supreme Court yesterday overturned a ruling by a Los Angeles appeals court last year on Proposition 36, stating that state judges do not have the power to grant drug treatment for low-level drug offenders with recent criminal records, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Los Angeles County Physicians Vote To Leave Union
Los Angeles County doctors have voted 331-229 to leave the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, citing dissatisfaction with benefits and the union’s “hardball negotiating tactics,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Poll Finds Support for Public, More Generous Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Plan
About 76% of U.S. residents consider the lack of prescription drug coverage for seniors a “major problem,” according to a poll released yesterday by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports.