Latest California Healthline Stories
San Diego City Council Approves Use of Medical Marijuana
The San Diego City Council yesterday voted 6-3 to approve revised guidelines that allow use of medical marijuana for “seriously ill patients” who have a physician’s authorization, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Republican Senators Voice Support for Medical Malpractice Liability Reforms
Senate Republican leaders yesterday voiced support for limits on medical malpractice liability, but they “acknowledged that passing such legislation in the Senate would be difficult,” the Washington Times reports.
California’s 1976 Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act should serve as a model for medical malpractice reform in other states because the law “works and works well,” Cruz Reynoso, a retired state Supreme Court Justice and member of the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Arbitration Oversight Board, writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece.
Reps. Conyers, McDermott Introduce Bill To Create National Single-Payer Health System
Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), a member of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, have introduced a bill that would create a national single-payer health system, CongressDaily reports.
Lawmakers Expected To Reintroduce Legislation Allowing Formation of Association Health Plans
Federal lawmakers plan to reintroduce legislation (HR 1774) that would allow the formation of association health plans, under which national trade associations could offer small businesses health insurance, the Washington Times reports.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will receive an additional $150 million in federal funds over the next two years under an agreement reached yesterday, “effectively ending the health department’s immediate funding crisis,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
President Bush’s Fiscal Year 2004 Budget Includes New Fees for Veterans Health, Medicare
President Bush has proposed a number of new or larger fees related to health care for veterans, Medicare claims and other services provided by the federal government to raise more than $2 billion to cover the cost of his proposed tax cuts, the AP/Lexington Herald-Leader reports.
State Consumer Groups Sue Pfizer for Off-Label Marketing of Neurontin
Three California-based consumer groups yesterday filed suit against Pfizer and its Parke-Davis subsidiary, alleging that the company “circumvent[ed]” federal law by promoting “off-label” uses for its epilepsy treatment Neurontin, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.
Barstow Veterans Home Fined $95,000 for Death of Resident
The Department of Health Services has fined the state-administered veterans home in Barstow $95,000 for the December death of resident Billy McGowen, DHS Director Dr. Diana Bonta announced this week, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente To Announce $1.8 Billion Plan To Put Patient Medical Records Online
Kaiser Permanente, the country’s largest not-for-profit HMO, today will announce plans to automate its system of patient medical records — a move that could “set a new standard for American medicine,” the Wall Street Journal reports.