Latest California Healthline Stories
Market Competition ‘Won’t Easily Cure’ Health Care, Wall Street Journal Column Says
CMS Administrator Tom Scully, FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan and Federal Trade Commission Chair Tim Muris are “tired of waiting for Congress to fix the U.S. health care system” and are “using their clout to inject competition and market forces to make health care more like the rest of the U.S. economy,” columnist David Wessel writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.
Budget Restrictions May Force AIDS Drug Assistance Program To Adopt Restrictions
Budget constraints may force the state to impose restrictions on its AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides AIDS drugs for free or at reduced prices to about 26,000 state residents who otherwise could not afford the drugs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Consumer Complaints About Safety of Ephedra Do Not Prove Health Risks, GAO Finds
The 16,000 consumer health complaints reported about Metabolife International ephedra products do not prove that the dietary supplement causes heart attacks and strokes, according to a General Accounting Office report released yesterday, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
United States Seeks Changes to WHO Tobacco Treaty To Allow Opting Out of Provisions
The United States is unlikely to sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a U.N. treaty designed to curtail tobacco use worldwide, unless nations are allowed to opt out of “objectionable” provisions, the Bush administration has told the World Health Organization, the Washington Post reports.
Assembly Health Committee Approves Bills Intended To Expand Health Coverage
The Assembly Health Committee on Tuesday approved three bills that would provide health coverage for uninsured California residents, the AP/Modesto Bee reports.
Presidential Candidate Dean Previews Health Care Proposal in Speech to Labor Union
Presidential candidate and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) yesterday previewed a health care proposal that would encourage more “aggressive efforts” at the state level to provide health insurance, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.
President Bush Signs Smallpox Vaccine Compensation Bill Into Law
President Bush yesterday signed into law a bill that will provide compensation for health care workers and others who experience adverse effects from the smallpox vaccine, the AP/Nando Times reports.
USA Today Examines Communication ‘Gap’ Between Physicians, Patients
USA Today examines the physician-patient “communication gap,” which has become “wider than ever” in the United States.
KCET’s ‘Life & Times’ Considers Availability of Dependent Health Coverage for Casino Workers
KCET’s “Life & Times” Tuesday examined claims by workers employed by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of inadequate compensation and a lack of affordable dependent health insurance coverage.
CMS Launches Home Health Care Quality Ratings Web Site
CMS today began posting online quality ratings of home health care agencies in eight states, with information from all other states to be added by fall, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reports.