Latest California Healthline Stories
Doctors Medical Center Nurses Could Lose Jobs If Strike Continues
Nurses on strike at Doctors Medical Center, which has facilities in San Pablo and Pinole, have been informed by administrators that they could lose their jobs if they do not return to work on Wednesday, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Judge Approves Minnesota Health Officials’ Plan To Collect Patient Medical Information
An administrative law judge yesterday ruled that the Minnesota Department of Health can begin to collect medical information on most state residents as part of a “massive” patient data bank, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Medicare Overpaid Specialty Hospitals by $800M in 2000, HHS Report Finds
Medicare overpaid specialty hospitals by $800 million in 2000 because of a lack of government oversight, according to a report from the HHS Office of Inspector General, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.
Sonoma County Hospitals ‘Hard Hit’ by Decreased Reimbursements, Increased Health Care Costs
Five of eight hospitals in Sonoma County reported losses in 2001 as a result of decreased reimbursements and increased health care costs, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Massachusetts Nurses Association To Lobby Lawmakers for Mandatory Staff Levels
The Massachusetts Nurses Association yesterday announced plans to lobby state lawmakers to pass a bill that would require minimum patient-to-nurse ratios in hospitals, the Boston Globe reports.
Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Case on Medicaid Smokers’ Claims to Tobacco Settlement Funds
The Supreme Court yesterday decided not to hear arguments from former smokers seeking a share of the $246 billion settlement reached between tobacco companies and states in 1998, Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation President Urges Discussion of Possible Solutions for the Uninsured
A recent Washington Post opinion piece by Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Henry Aaron “called much needed attention to the persistent challenge of expanding health coverage” to the uninsured, according to Dr. Steven Schroeder, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) yesterday said he plans to form an exploratory committee to raise funds for a possible presidential campaign, the Boston Globe reports.
President Bush Calls for Increased Funding to Fight HIV/AIDS in World AIDS Day Statement
President Bush on Friday called on people to commemorate World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 and said that the United States would increase its support and funding to combat the spread of HIV worldwide, Agence France-Presse reports.
FDA Approves Over-The-Counter Sale of Prescription Allergy Drug Claritin
The FDA last Wednesday approved over-the-counter sales of the prescription allergy drug Claritin, which will allow consumers to purchase the medication without a prescription and for a lower price, the New York Times reports.