Latest California Healthline Stories
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a Massachusetts law requiring tobacco companies to disclose the ingredients in all their brands and products violates the constitutional prohibition against unreasonable seizure of property by “forcing companies to reveal trade secrets,” the Boston Globe reports.
Pregnant Latinas in the state face “greater obstacles” and have a “greater sense of fear” when they apply for public health insurance programs such as Medi-Cal and CHIP to cover prenatal care than pregnant Latinas in New York and Florida, according to a new study, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Tenet Strategies Prompt Federal ‘Crackdown’ on Medicare Pricing Strategies
CMS officials yesterday announced they have begun a “crackdown” on Medicare billing “irregularities” and will be paying greater attention to hospitals suspected of taking advantage of Medicare outlier payments through their billing practices, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Many San Diego County Physicians Plan To Leave Area, Reduce Number of Patients, Survey Finds
More than 33% of San Diego County physicians plan to leave the area in the next three to five years, and others plan to reduce the number of patients that they treat, trends that could result in an access-to-care “crisis” in the county, according to a survey conducted by the San Diego County Medical Society, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Health Care Coalition Issues Guidelines on E-Mail Consultations for Physicians
The eRisk Working Group for Healthcare, a coalition of medical malpractice insurers, the American Medical Association and 40 other physician groups have issued new guidelines that ask physicians to conduct e-mail consultations only with patients they have treated in the past, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors yesterday considered a proposal that would return control of medical care and mental health services for prisoners in the county jail to the county Sheriff’s Department, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Rise of Managed Care May Prompt Support for Health Care Reform, Boston Globe Op-Ed States
A “national dialogue about health care is beginning” in the United States, and although “there are reasons to doubt that large-scale health reform will take place soon,” the rise of managed care may prompt voters to support health care reforms that failed in the early 1990s, New Republic Senior Editor Jonathan Cohn writes in a Boston Globe opinion piece.
Even With Increasing Rx Drug Copays, Seniors Still Access Medicines, Health Affairs Study Finds
While “aggressive” cost-sharing requirements for prescription drugs lower overall health plan expenses and cost seniors more, they do not decrease rates of pharmaceutical use, a study published today on the Health Affairs Web site found.
GAO Report Says FDA Delays Enforcement on ‘Deceptive’ Prescription Drug Ads
Some pharmaceutical companies have “repeatedly disseminated misleading advertisements” for prescription drugs, and delays in enforcement of federal regulations against the ads have allowed millions of additional U.S. residents to view them, according to a General Accounting Office report released yesterday, the New York Times reports.
Time Examines Massachusetts-Based e-Benefits Procurement Company
Time this week profiles Waltham, Mass.-based IE-Engine, an online provider of health care procurement services for employers.