Latest California Healthline Stories
Ventura County Supervisors Criticize Law Enforcement Officials for Medical Marijuana Guidelines
The Ventura County Board of Supervisors yesterday criticized county law enforcement officials for “quietly setting a standard” for medical marijuana possession without comments from local health officials and patients, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles Ambulance Service Owners Indicted on 26 Counts of Medicare Fraud
Federal authorities last week arrested and indicted the owners of a Los Angeles ambulance service for allegedly “bilking” more than $2 million from Medicare, the Los Angeles Times reports.
New Survey Finds Socioeconomic ‘Medical Divide’ in Access to Care
Results of a survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government and NPR indicate a “significant medical divide” along socioeconomic lines in the United States.
House Republicans Hope Recent Provider Endorsement of Medicare Package Will Help Garner Support
House Republican leaders are hopeful that recent endorsements of the GOP’s Medicare reform package by provider groups “will help convince members” to support the legislation, CongressDaily/AM reports.
New Study Questions Results of 1999 Institute of Medicine Report on Medical Errors
A study published in Tuesday’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine calls into question the methodology of a “highly publicized” 1999 Institute of Medicine report that found medical errors lead to an estimated 44,000 to 98,000 patient deaths in the Unites States each year, the New York Times reports.
Anti-tobacco politicians and activists are working to block a request by tobacco company UST Inc., makers of the Skoal and Copenhagen brands of smokeless tobacco, to claim that smokeless tobacco pose “less of a health risk” than cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Fresno Bee Editorial Endorses Bill to Allow Sale of Hypodermic Syringes Without a Prescription
The California Medical Association, the California Nurses Association and the California Pharmacists Association have “wisely” endorsed a Senate-passed bill (SB 1785) that would allow adults to purchase as many as 30 hypodermic needles at licensed pharmacies without a doctor’s prescription, according to a Fresno Bee editorial.
Health Plan of the Redwoods Moves to Eliminate Medicare+Choice Plan
Health Plan of the Redwoods may need to drop its “money-losing” Medicare managed care program in order to survive, according to the insurer’s bankruptcy filings, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
National Governors Association Again Lobbies Congress for Increased Federal Medicaid Reimbursements
Representatives of the National Governors Association yesterday asked Congress for “short-term relief from rapidly rising Medicaid costs,” the Washington Post reports.
Malpractice Suit Against Nezhat Brothers Quietly Resolved
The Georgia malpractice suit that “sparked a firestorm of controversy” surrounding Stanford University surgeons Camran and Farr Nezhat has ended, but neither side has disclosed how the dispute was resolved, the San Jose Mercury News reports.