Latest California Healthline Stories
PhRMA Approves Guidelines on Sales Practices to Doctors
The executive committee of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America yesterday unanimously approved voluntary guidelines that will restrict many of the “controversial” sales practices that drug companies use to target doctors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Scully Walkout Highlights ‘Fiscal Reality’ of Medicare
CMS Administrator Tom Scully’s decision last week to defy a subpoena to appear before a House committee highlights the “collision between tax cut myths and fiscal reality, with Medicare caught in the middle,” columnist Paul Krugman writes in a New York Times opinion piece.
Federal Judge Upholds Oregon’s Assisted Suicide Law
Ruling that the Justice Department “overstepped [its] authority” in attempting to nullify Oregon’s physician assisted-suicide law, a federal judge yesterday issued a permanent injunction preventing the federal government from interfering with the statute, the Los Angeles Times reports.
CalPERS Board Approves 25% Premium Rise, Drops Two HMOs
As expected, the board of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the second-largest purchaser of health insurance after the federal government, yesterday approved a 25.1% increase in premiums for the system’s HMO plans in 2003, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Use of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Conversion Funds Debated in New York
A New York state plan to spend most of the $1.1 billion generated by the conversion of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield into a for-profit company on raises for workers in a “politically powerful” labor union, rather than on a charitable health care foundation, has spurred a debate in the state, the New York Times reports.
White House Indicates It Will Compromise on Amount of Money for Medicare Rx Drug Program
Members of the Bush administration yesterday indicated that the White House is willing to compromise on the amount of money to spend in a Medicare prescription drug benefit, Congressional Quarterly reports.
Senate Passes Reauthorization Bill for Community Health Centers
The Senate approved a bill on Tuesday that would continue and strengthen support for community health centers and create a program to coordinate care for underserved individuals.
Contra Costa County Officials Promote Infant Immunization
Although immunization rates in Contra Costa County have risen in recent years, nearly one-third of area children are still not fully immunized, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Ventura County Rally Protests Proposed Budget Reductions for Care of Developmentally Disabled
About 300 state residents yesterday rallied against budget reductions proposed by Gov. Gray Davis (D) that they said would deny services to about 5,500 individuals with developmental disabilities, the Los Angeles Times reports.
A Sacramento Bee editorial today questions the cost of health care reforms proposed recently by California legislators who seek to mandate that insurers cover an increasing number of services.