Latest California Healthline Stories
Opening Arguments Begin in Lawsuit Filed by Marina Del Rey Smoker Against Philip Morris
Opening arguments began yesterday in a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Philip Morris USA by a California resident who smoked for 46 years, a case that could test recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions to limit punitive damage awards, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Democratic Senators Criticize Delay in VA Hospital and Health Care Facility Reform Plan
Seven Democratic senators yesterday sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi that criticized a decision by the department to delay a plan to restructure veterans hospitals and health care facilities, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Senate HELP Committee Passes Bill To Speed Generic Drugs to Market
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee yesterday unanimously approved a bill that would save consumers “billions of dollars” by speeding the market entry of generic drugs, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Opinion Pieces Discuss Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Debate
Several opinion pieces published recently address the congressional debate over a Medicare prescription drug benefit.
Judge Denies Request To Stop Cutbacks at High Desert Hospital
U.S. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper this week denied Antelope Valley Hospital’s request for a temporary restraining order that would have stopped the conversion of Lancaster’s High Desert Hospital into an ambulatory care clinic, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Pharmaceutical companies tripled their direct-to-consumer advertising budgets in recent years, to $2.7 billion in 2001 from $800 million in 1996, according to a study released yesterday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Boston Globe reports.
Disability Rights Advocates To Sue Alameda County To Keep Clinics Open
Oakland-based Disability Rights Advocates, along with Bay Area Legal Aid, plan to file suit next week if Alameda County does not agree to keep two health clinics open that are scheduled to close June 30, an attorney for the group said Tuesday, the Oakland Tribune reports.
Bush Asks Congress To Pass Medicare Reform Legislation by July 4 Recess
President Bush yesterday urged Congress to act quickly on Medicare reform legislation and pass a bill before the July 4 recess, saying lawmakers have “an unprecedented opportunity to give America’s seniors an up-to-date Medicare system that includes more choices and better benefits,” the Washington Times reports.
U.S. Health Care Cost Inflation Rate Decreased in 2002, Study Finds
The inflation rate of U.S. health care costs decreased last year after five years of increase, prompted by a decrease in the inflation rate of prescription drug and hospital costs, two of the “most stubborn drivers of medical inflation,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Senate Finance Committee Formally Releases Medicare Reform Proposal
The Senate Finance Committee yesterday formally released its Medicare reform plan, with some changes from an earlier version, and committee members discussed possible alterations to their drug coverage proposal in response to a Congressional Budget Office estimate that the committee’s original proposal would cost approximately $50 billion less than the $400 billion over 10 years that Congress has allotted for Medicare reform, the Washington Post reports.