Latest California Healthline Stories
Consumer Reports Examines ‘Traps’ in Individual Health Insurance Market
Attempting to purchase individual health insurance requires “entering a perilous market in which good advice is scarce,” according to a new report in the September issue of Consumer Reports.
Medical Supply Purchaser Premier Agrees to ‘Sweeping Changes’ in Its Business Practices
San Diego-based Premier Inc. — a national hospital supply purchasing group that has come under fire for its questionable ties to medical supply companies — has agreed to “sweeping changes” in its business practices, the New York Times reports.
San Francisco Chronicle Series Examines Safety of Human Clinical Trials
The San Francisco Chronicle this week published a three-part series that focused on the safety and oversight of human clinical trials.
Federal Lawmakers Should Pass Legislation To ‘Decriminalize’ Medical Marijuana, Sacramento Bee Says
Federal lawmakers should pass a bill (HR 2592) sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) that would “decriminalize” the use of medical marijuana in states that allow the practice and establish a “narrow exception” to federal law, which prohibits marijuana use, according to a Sacramento Bee editorial.
Asthma Rates in Children ‘Stabilized’ in Late 1990s, CDC Study Finds
After increasing for twenty years, asthma rates among U.S. children “stabilized” in the late 1990s, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
State Medicaid Programs Look To Contain Psychiatric Drug Costs To Alleviate Budget Shortfalls
MPR’s “Marketplace” last week reported that one way that state Medicaid programs facing budget shortfalls are trying to rein in increasing drug costs is to manage beneficiaries’ psychiatric drug expenses.
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday examined the “tremendous pressures” faced by brand-name pharmaceutical companies, forces that could transform the $400 billion industry and “even alter the flow of new drugs to the marketplace.”
Senate To Consider Bill To Require State Contractors To Provide Domestic Partner Benefits
The Senate Appropriations Committee today is expected to debate a bill (AB 1080) that would require private companies that contract with the state to provide benefits to domestic partners, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Four California Lawmakers Call for $100 Million Increase in Funds for AIDS Assistance Program
Four U.S. representatives from California last Friday sent a letter to the House leadership that called for a $100 million increase in funds for the “beleaguered” AIDS Drug Assistance Program, according to a press release from the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
Federal Retirees Lobbying To Join Health Insurance Premium Conversion Program
An expected low cost-of-living adjustment for next year, coupled with rising health plan premiums, has prompted federal retirees to step up lobbying efforts for legislation that would allow them to pay for health insurance premiums with pretax money, the Washington Post reports.