Latest California Healthline Stories
Los Angeles Times Examines Debate Over Paid Family Leave Legislation
The Los Angeles Times examines the “simmering fight in the state capital” between business groups and organized labor over legislation that could make California the first state in the country to mandate paid family leave for employees who take time off to care for a family member with an illness or to spend time with a newborn.
Senate Democrats ‘Scale Back’ Earlier Demands for Medicare Rx Drug Benefit
Senate Democrats have “drastically scaled back” their criteria for a Medicare prescription drug benefit in an effort to win enough Republican support to pass a plan early this week, the Washington Post reports.
Increase in Nation’s Use of Telemedicine Technologies ‘Slow and Uneven,’ Report Finds
Despite improvements in computer and communication technologies, the increase in the use of telemedicine in the United States has been “relatively slow and uneven,” according a report published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
Federal Officials Consider Liability Issues of Smallpox Vaccine at Issue Briefing
With HHS and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices nearing a final decision on a policy for vaccination against smallpox, top health officials have begun discussing liability issues surrounding vaccine-related death or injury.
Senate Passes $9B Measure To Help States Defray Medicaid, Social Services Costs
The Senate yesterday passed a measure that would provide states with $9 billion to help with the costs of Medicaid and other social service programs, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.
Bush Announces Plan To Cap Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Awards To Lower Health Care Costs
As expected, President Bush yesterday urged lawmakers to act on legislation that would limit malpractice awards in lawsuits against doctors and insurance companies, saying that unlimited awards increase health costs and force doctors out of business, the Washington Post reports.
FDA Considering Mandatory Barcode System in Hospitals To Cut Medical Errors
The FDA today is holding a public hearing to discuss requiring that all hospitals affix barcodes to patient IDs and prescription drug containers in order to prevent “thousands of … deaths each year,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Gay and bisexual men in search of casual sex are “increasingly” using the Internet to find partners and, as a result, are spreading HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases at a faster rate than in the past, according to state health officials, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Advocates gathered in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to rally support for a bill (HR 2592) that would prohibit the federal government from interfering with state laws that legalize the use of medical marijuana, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Three Los Angeles County Supervisors Expected To Support Ballot Measure To Fund Trauma Centers
Three of five Los Angeles County supervisors have said they will vote next Tuesday to place a measure on the Nov. 5 ballot that would raise property taxes to fund the county’s trauma care centers and emergency rooms, the Los Angeles Daily News reports.