Latest California Healthline Stories
Registered Nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center Set for One-Day Strike Wednesday
Registered nurses at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center last week “set the stage” for a one-day strike on Wednesday as contract negotiations with the hospital have stalled, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.
Texas Company Creates Program To Allow Consumers To Import Rx Drugs from Canada
SPC Global Technologies, a health claims processor based in Temple, Texas, has established a new program that will allow as many as 20,000 individuals enrolled in SPC client health plans to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Candidates ‘Unconditionally Ignore’ the Uninsured, Brownstein Says
Democrats and Republicans running for reelection “are doing their best to utterly and unconditionally ignore” the issue of the uninsured, “the great unmentioned of the 2002 campaign,” Los Angeles Times reporter Ronald Brownstein writes in a “Washington Outlook” column today.
Newspaper Editorials Respond to California HealthCare Foundation Nursing Home Study
Several newspapers have weighed in on a study released last week by the California HealthCare Foundation that found 75% of nursing homes in the state do not meet federal quality standards and 44% violate the state’s minimum nurse staffing level requirements.
Federal Judge Rules FDA Lacks Authority To Require Drug Companies To Test Drugs for Use in Children
U.S. District Court Judge Henry Kennedy on Thursday ruled that an FDA regulation that requires pharmaceutical companies to test their products for use in children “exceeds the FDA’s statutory authority and is therefore invalid,” the New York Times reports.
Congress Not Likely To Take Action on Mental Health Parity Legislation This Year
Lawmakers have failed to reach agreement on a mental health parity bill, and Congress likely will not take action on the legislation this year, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Los Angeles Times Endorses Los Angeles County Ballot Measure To Fund Trauma Centers
Although a measure on the Nov. 5 Los Angeles County ballot to fund the county’s trauma care centers and emergency rooms would impose a “swallow-your-medicine” property tax increase and would not guarantee that the revenue raised would “keep all the county’s beleaguered hospitals open,” voters should approve the measure rather than “waiting for the entire system to collapse,” according to a Los Angeles Times editorial.
CDC Officials Announce System To Monitor Safety of Smallpox Vaccine
CDC officials yesterday announced that a “network of experts” will be established to provide around-the-clock consultation for physicians treating patients with smallpox vaccine complications, the New York Times reports.
Lockyer Settles Lawsuit Against Smokeless Tobacco Company over Illegal Distribution of Products
Officials from U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, which manufactures the Skoal, Copenhagen and Rooster smokeless tobacco brands, yesterday announced that the company has agreed to a $171,000 settlement with Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) and will end distribution of free samples in public places in the state, the AP/Ventura County Star reports.
CDC Launches Public Awareness Campaign on Health Issues Facing Seniors
The CDC has launched a public awareness campaign on health issues faced by elderly U.S. residents, including those with disabilities, AP/Newark Star-Ledger reports.