Morning Breakouts

Latest California Healthline Stories

PhRMA Joins Celebrities To Lobby Against House Passage of Generic Drug Bill

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America yesterday joined Spotlight Health, a company that uses celebrities to advocate for various health issues, in urging members of the House not to consider generic drug legislation (HR 5272) passed by the Senate earlier this year, CongressDaily/AM reports.

Sens. Baucus, Grassley Introduce Medicare Provider ‘Giveback’ Package

Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and ranking member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) yesterday formally introduced a $43 billion Medicare provider “giveback” bill under a Senate rule that allows the bill to bypass the committee and move directly to the floor, CongressDaily/AM reports.

State’s Female Teachers Have Higher Cancer Rates Than Women in General Population, Study Finds

Female teachers in the state have a 51% higher rate of breast cancer and a 72% higher rate of uterine cancer than women in the general population, according to a new study conducted by California researchers, the Los Angeles Times reports.

House Passes Community Health Center Reauthorization Bill

The House yesterday passed a bill (HR 3450) by voice vote that would allow community health centers to save money by forming networks for purchasing and technical services, AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Approves $18 Million Pay Raise for Home Health Care Workers

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted to give a 75-cent-per-hour pay raise to a union of 85,000 home health care workers who provide care to the homebound elderly, infirm and disabled, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Jackson Hole Group Proposes New IT To Improve Health Care Delivery, Quality

The Jackson Hole Group, a group of health care reformers that “spearheaded the concept of HMOs” in 1970 and “stimulated debate” over the national health care plan sponsored by former President Clinton in the 1990s, has proposed “new information technologies to help deliver care and assure quality,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

U.S. Should Spend More on Health Quality Research, Reinhardt Says

The United States should allocate more funds for studies that measure the quality of health care nationwide to help develop effective plans to provide care for an aging population and implement new medical advances, according to Uwe Reinhardt, professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton University.

Health Costs Will Increase 15% for Large Employers in 2003, Survey Says

Large companies will pay on average 15% more to provide health plans for their employees in 2003 than they did this year, according to a survey by consulting firm Towers Perrin that found health costs are increasing “even faster than feared,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Federal Bailout for Los Angeles County Health Department Not Likely, Scully Says

CMS Administrator Tom Scully said yesterday in a Los Angeles Times interview that the federal government will not provide Los Angeles County with a $350 million bailout requested by county supervisors to avoid the closure of several area hospitals and clinics.