Latest California Healthline Stories
The California HealthCare Foundation today released a new online guide that provides information comparing the prescription discount drug programs available for seniors in the state.
Five Pharmaceutical Companies Now Report Counterfeit Cases
The number of recent cases of drug counterfeiting and tampering under investigation by the FDA has grown to five, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Senate Approves Legislation to Reform State Medical Board
The Senate last week approved a bill (SB 1950) that would require the Medical Board of California to disclose more information to the public about doctors who have settled malpractice claims, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Counties Struggle to Fund Proposition 36 Treatment Programs for Non-Violent Drug Offenders
Many California counties have begun to run out of funds to comply with treatment program requirements under Proposition 36, and some have resorted to using general funds, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Wall Street Journal Looks at Proposed Drug Reimportation Legislation
The Wall Street Journal today examines the issue of reducing pharmaceutical costs through drug reimportation from Canada, where government controls keep pharmaceutical prices about 30% to 50% lower than in the United States.
California AIDSRide Organizers Blame Competing Ride, Lawsuit for Reduction in Participants This Year
About 1,200 individuals, fewer than half the number who participated in last year’s California AIDSRide, planned to depart from San Francisco for Los Angeles yesterday as part of the seven-day, 575-mile charity bike ride, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports.
Congress Must Either Approve Medicare Drug Benefit or Feel Seniors’ ‘Wrath,’ Sen. Miller Writes
If Congress fails to approve a Medicare prescription drug benefit by the November elections, “incumbents of both parties will feel the full force of [senior Americans’] wrath,” Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) writes in a New York Times opinion piece.
Amendment to Tobacco Control Bill Would Raise State Smoking Age from 18 to 21
Assembly member Paul Koretz (D-West Hollywood) plans to amend an anti-smoking bill (AB 1453) to include a provision that would raise the state’s legal smoking age from 18 to 21, making it the highest in the nation, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Toxic Chemicals Found to Raise Cancer Risk for 66% of Americans
At least two-thirds of Americans reside in areas where toxic chemicals such as benzene, mercury and formaldehyde in the air “pose an elevated cancer risk,” according to a study released last Friday by the Environmental Protection Agency, the AP/New York Times reports.
Bush Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Maine Rx Discount Program
The Bush administration last Friday asked the Supreme Court to reject a pharmaceutical industry appeal and allow Maine to enact a program that could force drug makers to reduce the prices of prescription drugs sold in the state, the New York Times reports.