Latest California Healthline Stories
Bush Expected To Announce Medicare Reforms Designed To Foster Competition
President Bush plans to propose “sweeping, long-term changes” to Medicare later this month, according to administration officials, the New York Times reports.
California Healthline Looks at Recent Tobacco News
California Healthline highlights some of the recent smoking-related news in the following summaries.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation last week asked Los Angeles County health officials to do more to address a 62% increase in syphilis cases in 2002 among men who have sex with men, many of whom have HIV, Reuters reports.
More Hospitals Nationwide Offer Patients Second Opinions Online
The Los Angeles Times on Monday reported on the increased number of hospitals nationwide — such as the Cleveland Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins University Hospital — that offer patients second opinions online.
Justice Department Launches Investigation into Tenet’s Medicare Outlier Payments
The Justice Department yesterday served Tenet Healthcare, the nation’s second largest for-profit hospital chain, with an administrative subpoena seeking documents related to its Medicare outlier reimbursements, the New York Times reports.
Federal Government Should Help States Avoid Public Health Cuts, Los Angeles Times States
The federal government should step in and provide the “immediate fiscal relief” states need to avoid massive cuts to public health programs, a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
Several New Health-Related State Laws Take Effect Jan. 1
A number of health-related laws took effect in the state on Jan. 1, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Bush Administration’s Proposed Physician Gift Guidelines Criticized by Pharmaceutical Industry
The New York Times on Dec. 26 examined opposition to guidelines proposed by the Bush administration to restrict gifts that pharmaceutical companies offer to physicians and health insurers to encourage them to prescribe or recommend certain treatments.
Federal Court Rules Tobacco Companies Not Liable For California Smoker’s Death
A federal judge in Oakland on Tuesday ruled that Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco were not responsible for the death of a longtime smoker, marking the first time since 1999 that the tobacco industry has won such a case on the West Coast, the Los Angeles Times reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Examines Childhood Obesity Issue
The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday examined problems related to the increased number of overweight children in California.