Latest California Healthline Stories
San Francisco Chronicle Examines Problems in Los Angeles County Health System
The San Francisco Chronicle today examines Clinica Para Las Americas, a Los Angeles County clinic closed in a series of “sudden, sharp budget cuts that have left the clinic’s patients with few alternatives.”
PacifiCare To Launch Three New Individual Health Insurance Plans Next Year
Officials at PacifiCare Health Systems on Wednesday announced plans to launch three new individual health insurance plans in California on Jan. 1, the Orange County Register reports.
Pollution Not Likely Cause of High Rate of Breast Cancer in Marin County, Researchers Say
The high rate of breast cancer in Marin County likely has “everything to do with demography,” not pollution in the air or water, according to some researchers who have studied the issue, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Five Largest HMOs in California Have $2.2B More in Reserves Than Required, State Figures Find
California’s five largest HMOs have financial reserves totaling $3.15 billion, $2.2 billion more than necessary to meet the Department of Managed Health Care’s minimum standards for financial viability, according to information filed with the state, the AP/Ventura County Star reports.
CDC Issues Guidelines To Improve Security of Dangerous Pathogens in Laboratories
The CDC yesterday issued detailed guidelines to improve security at laboratories that research dangerous pathogens and until now “have largely gone unregulated,” the AP/Nando Times reports.
Federal Trade Commission Sues Texas Firm for Deceptive Advertising of Diet Aid
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday filed a lawsuit suit against Mark Nutritionals for deceptive advertising of a weight loss product that the company claims “burns away fat while you sleep,” the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Federal Appeals Court Panel Raises Concerns Over Maine Prescription Drug Discount Program
Two of the three judges on a panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia yesterday said that they may have to overturn a Maine program that provides prescription drug discounts to uninsured residents, the Portland Press Herald reports.
Tulare County Employees Protest Proposed Increase in Health Insurance Premiums for Family Coverage
About 75 Tulare County employees on Tuesday met outside the chambers of the county Board of Supervisors to protest proposed increases in their monthly health insurance premiums for family coverage, the Fresno Bee reports.
Federal Stopgap Needed To Curb Seniors’ Prescription Drug Costs, Commonwealth Fund Study Finds
One-fifth of elderly New York residents skip doses or go without medication because of high prescription drug costs, according to a report released yesterday by the Commonwealth Fund.
In an attempt to head off rising health costs, more than 80% of employers plan to raise premiums or copayments for current retirees in the next three years, and almost one in four employers plan to cut such benefits for future retirees, according to a new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the AP/Washington Post reports.