Latest California Healthline Stories
Medicare+Choice Benefits Decrease, Premiums Increase in 2002, Commonwealth Fund Reports Find
Medicare+Choice plans reduced benefits, including prescription drug coverage, and beneficiaries paid 40% more in monthly premiums in 2002 compared to 2001, according to two reports released today by the Commonwealth Fund.
Davis Announces Nearly $55 Million in Grants for Programs Serving the Mentally Ill Homeless
As part of the Governor’s Homeless Prevention Initiative, Gov. Gray Davis (D) on Wednesday announced that 34 local programs that provide services to people with mental illnesses who are homeless will receive $54.9 million in fiscal year 2002-2003.
About 18% of California seniors last year did not fill a prescription or did not take prescribed doses of a treatment to “make their medications last longer” and reduce costs, a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey released yesterday found.
Risk of Death from Heart Failure Has Declined 33% Since 1950s, NEJM Study Says
The risk of dying from congestive heart failure has decreased by approximately 33% since the 1950s, according to new findings from the nation’s longest-running heart study, the Boston Globe reports.
Los Angeles Times Editorial Calls for Clinical Trial Safeguards
The federal government has “poured hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars” into clinical trials of new prescription drugs to defend against bioterrorist attacks but “should be equally eager to ensure that people are not hurt in the rush to protect the public,” a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
Health Plan of the Redwoods To Shut Down at Midnight Tonight
Health Plan of the Redwoods will end operations at midnight tonight, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
American Medical Association’s Last-Minute Contributions Top $835,000 for Congressional Candidates
Over the past two weeks, the American Medical Association’s political action committee has spent approximately $835,000 on television and radio ads in support of congressional candidates, more than any other organization spent in the same time period, CongressDaily reports.
San Ramon Medical Center Challenges Nurses’ Bid To Unionize
San Ramon Regional Medical Center officials are challenging the facility’s registered nurses’ recent vote to join the California Nurses Association, the Contra Costa Times reports.
HHS Awards $26.7 Million in Grants To Improve Health Care in Rural Areas
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson yesterday announced $26.7 million in grants to improve health care in rural hospitals and care for heart attack victims in rural areas.
PacifiCare Posts ‘Unexpectedly Strong’ Third-Quarter Results
PacifiCare Health Systems, the nation’s largest operator of Medicare HMOs, announced yesterday that its third-quarter earnings were “unexpectedly strong,” the Los Angeles Times reports.