Latest California Healthline Stories
San Diego Union-Tribune Examines Trend of Increased Hospital Rates
The San Diego Union-Tribune today examines the increased cost of hospital stays in the state.
Senate May Vote on Compromise Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Bill Today
The Senate could vote as early as today on a compromise Medicare prescription drug benefit bill that would provide coverage for low-income beneficiaries and those with “catastrophic” costs.
Drug Companies Use Loopholes in Hatch-Waxman Act To Delay Generic Competition, FTC Report Says
The Federal Trade Commission today plans to release a report finding that brand-name pharmaceutical companies have used loopholes in the 1984 Hatch-Waxman Act to delay generic drug competition, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Northern California Delta Dental Workers Reject Latest Contract Proposal
About 1,000 Northern California Delta Dental Plan clerical employees who have been on strike since July 19 voted 495-377 yesterday to reject the company’s latest contract proposal, the Sacramento Bee reports.
California Lawmaker Introduces $50M Bill To Help States Develop Web-Based CHIP Enrollment Systems
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) last week introduced a bill (HR 5233) that would provide grants to help states develop Internet-based enrollment systems for their CHIP programs.
WellPoint To Pay $9.25M to Settle Blue Cross of California Medicare Fraud Charges
Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based health insurer WellPoint Health Networks Inc. has agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle charges that its Blue Cross of California subsidiary defrauded Medicare, Department of Justice officials said yesterday.
State Should Not Require Employers To Provide Paid Family Leave, Union-Tribune Says
Although paid leave for employees to care for family members with illnesses or to spend time with newborns “would be a good thing,” the state should not require employers to provide the benefit, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial.
More Research Needed on Latino Youth Health Disparities, New York Times Says
“Much more” research into the health disparities experienced by Latino children is “clearly necessary,” a New York Times editorial says.
Internet Fostering Participation in Class-Action Lawsuits, New York Times Reports
The New York Times on Sunday reported on the increasing number of people who are joining class-action lawsuits after searching for information on the Internet, a trend that “solves a longstanding problem for most class-action litigators”: locating potential plaintiffs.
Butte County Board of Supervisors Adopts Ordinance To Determine Tobacco Settlement Allocation
The Butte County Board of Supervisors last week unanimously adopted an ordinance that will establish an advisory committee to make recommendations on the allocation of the county’s share of the national tobacco settlement and criticized a ballot measure that would allocate a large part of the funds for tobacco education programs and tobacco-related health care costs, the Chico Enterprise-Record reports.