Latest California Healthline Stories
Los Angeles County officials yesterday released their fiscal year 2002-2003 budget proposal, which includes a number of planned reductions in health services, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles Times Urges ‘Action’ on Plans to Provide Coverage to the Uninsured
With seven million Californians lacking health coverage, the “possible solutions” under consideration “shouldn’t be shelved without action,” according to a Los Angeles Times editorial.
New York Times Examines ‘Emerging Trend’ of Hospitalized Patients Hiring Private Nurses
The New York Times today reports on the “emerging trend” of hospitalized patients hiring private nurses to supplement care provided by hospital nursing staff.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat Examines Mental Health Services for Youths in Sonoma County
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat last weekend featured two articles examining mental health services for children and adolescents in Sonoma County.
Most Patients Who Request Brand Name Rx Drugs Get Them, FDA Survey Finds
Patients who ask their physicians for a specific brand-name drug usually get a prescription for that medication, according to a new FDA survey that “underscore[s] the powerful role consumer advertising plays in how America’s physicians are treating illnesses,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles Times Looks at Health Insurance Coverage of the ‘Near-Elderly’
The Los Angeles Times today reports on the problems that many Americans ages 55 to 64 — the “near elderly” — face if they lose their employer-sponsored health insurance “just as the health problems that come with growing older begin to surface.”
El Camino Hospital Partners with Eclipsys To Develop Wireless, Paperless Facility
Mountain View-based El Camino Hospital has partnered with health information systems developer Eclipsys to create a “wireless and paperless” hospital, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
California lawmakers have introduced a number of bills in the Legislature that would require health plans to cover a range of services — from acupuncture treatment to programs for coffee addiction — but columnist Daniel Weintraub writes in a Sacramento Bee opinion piece that the legislation could lead to a loss of health coverage for a number of low-income families.
PacifiCare Pays $87M To Settle FEHBP Overcharges Case
The Justice Department announced on Friday that PacifiCare Health Systems will pay $87.3 million to settle allegations that it overcharged for benefits provided to members of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the AP/New York Times reports.
Teenage Smoking Leads to Addiction Within Weeks
Teenagers who take “just a few draws” on a cigarette every other day can become addicted to nicotine in only a few weeks, according to a study published in this month’s issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the Boston Globe reports.