Latest California Healthline Stories
Tamoxifen May Help Prevent Breast Cancer in High-Risk Women, Study Finds
Tamoxifen, the most widely prescribed drug for treating breast cancer, might prevent the disease in healthy women considered at high risk of developing the disease, according to a review of breast cancer prevention trials published in the medical journal the Lancet, the Reuters/Chicago Tribune reports.
Thompson ‘Vague’ in House Testimony on Specifics of Bush Medicare Reform Proposal
In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said yesterday that under President Bush’s Medicare reform proposal, beneficiaries would not have to join an HMO to receive a prescription drug benefit, but he “left open the possibility” that they might have to join some type of private health plan to be eligible for a drug benefit, the New York Times reports.
Lawmakers Promise Probe of Other Hospital Chains After Hearing Testimony About Tenet Pricing
Executives from Tenet Healthcare, the nation’s second-largest hospital chain, yesterday told Assembly Health Committee members that the company did not reap higher-than-average daily profits from patient care compared to other hospitals in the state, the Sacramento Bee reports.
KQED’s ‘This Week in Northern California’ Program To Examine Increased Health Care Costs
KQED’s “This Week in Northern California,” a local roundtable discussion and news analysis program, tonight will examine the rise in health care costs in California and related problems faced by employers, employees and the uninsured in the state.
Medicare Overpaying Providers More Than $1 Billion in Reimbursements, HHS Inspector General Says
Medicare could reduce its spending by $1.1 billion per year by adjusting a fee schedule that reimburses some providers more than other providers for performing the same service, according to a report by HHS Inspector General Janet Rehnquist, the Washington Post reports.
Health Spending Increases Will Continue To Outpace Economic Growth, CMS Report Says
Private and public health care spending nationwide will likely grow an average of 7.3% between 2002 and 2012 but will slow to a 6.7% growth rate by 2012, according to a CMS report published online today in Health Affairs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Lawmakers Introduce Bills To Crack Down on Illegal Pharmacies, Raise Legal Smoking Age
Assembly member Ken Maddox (R-Garden Grove) on Tuesday introduced a bill (AB 261) that would increase from a misdemeanor to a felony the penalty for the sale of medications without a prescription, the Orange County Register reports.
The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday examined a recommendation from medical marijuana advocates that the state government take responsibility for the oversight of medical marijuana distribution in the California or become the official distributor to help address the legal challenges against Proposition 215 by the federal government.
Rep. Norwood Revives Patients’ Rights Debate with New Legislation
Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) is “reviv[ing]” the debate over patients’ rights by proposing two new bills, but he acknowledged that passage of such legislation “could be difficult” because lawmakers recently have been focused on creating a Medicare drug benefit and addressing rising medical malpractice insurance rates, the Associated Press reports.
Federal Officials May Decide To Cover Self-Injected Drugs Under Medicare
Federal officials may revise a rule to expand Medicare prescription drug coverage to include certain self-injected treatments, the Chicago Tribune reports.