Latest California Healthline Stories
Several States Forfeit $1.2 Billion in Unspent CHIP Funds
Twenty-five states on Oct. 1 forfeited $1.2 billion in unspent CHIP funds to the U.S. Treasury, the New York Times reports.
Marin County, Federal Health Officials To Investigate High Breast Cancer Rate Among County Women
Marin County and federal health officials last week announced plans to investigate the factors behind the high rate of breast cancer among county women, the AP/Fresno Bee reports.
Los Angeles Federal Judge Repeals Order To Block Television Advertisements for Paxil
A Los Angeles federal judge yesterday repealed a temporary injunction barring national television advertisements that promote the anti-depressant Paxil as non-habit-forming, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Panel Calls for Resumption of Suspended Gene Therapy Trials
FDA advisers have called for gene therapy trials for severe combined immunodeficiency to resume despite the recent revelation that a French child contracted a “leukemia-like illness” from the experimental treatment for SCID, also known as “bubble boy disease.”
Judge Rules Antelope Valley Hospital Must Recognize Nurses’ Ballots
Donn Ginoza, an administrative law judge with the California Public Employment Relations Board, on Monday ruled that Antelope Valley Hospital must recognize the “card-style ballots” submitted by nurses voting for union representation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ventura County supervisors on Tuesday are expected to vote on whether to allocate as much as $5.5 million from the county’s share of the national tobacco settlement to several health services, including the Ventura County Medical Center and Behavioral Health Department, the Ventura County Star reports.
States Cutting Medicaid Services, Limiting Eligibility
The Washington Post today looks at how a weakened economy is forcing all but nine states to “rein in” their Medicaid expenditures this year by reducing services and limiting eligibility.
Bush Administration Withdraws Support for Bill Covering Pregnant Women
In an apparent reversal of position, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson has said that he no longer supports legislation to extend CHIP program coverage to pregnant women, stating that a regulation enacted by the administration last month to extend CHIP benefits to fetuses will achieve the same end, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Health Care Service Quality Ratings Have Small Impact on Consumer Decisions, Survey Finds
Most consumers who view health care service quality ratings do not consider the information in decisions about hospitals, health plans or physicians, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive, the Wall Street Journal reports.
DMHC Denies Kaiser Permanente Request To Cap Prescription Drug Benefits
The Department of Managed Health Care yesterday rejected a request by Kaiser Permanente to place caps as low as $500 on prescription drug coverage for some individual and small-group health plans, the Los Angeles Times reports.