Latest California Healthline Stories
Asthma Mortality Rate Declined Between 1995 and 1998 as Hospitalizations Increased, CDC Report Finds
The CDC said yesterday that after increasing steadily since the 1980s, asthma rates appear to be “leveling off or even declining,” the AP/Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports.
Schools and local governments should develop policies to help fight increased rates of obesity in the United States, syndicated columnist Neal Peirce writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece.
New York Coalition Asks Lawmakers for Hospital Report Cards, More Information on Physicians
A coalition of more than 25 civic, consumer and other advocacy groups asked New York officials this week to create “report cards” for every hospital in the state, including information on the physicians who perform procedures there, the Associated Press reports.
Lawmakers Reject Plan to Eliminate Program That Pays Spouses, Parents to Care for Relatives
A recommendation to help reduce the state’s projected $15 billion budget deficit by eliminating a state program that pays spouses and parents to care for family members with disabilities has been rejected by a legislative committee, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Blood Collection Organizations Should Freeze Reserves, Former American Red Cross Head Says
Blood donations should be frozen whenever supply exceeds demand in order to create a “steady, ready and separate blood source” for use during a national catastrophe, Bernadine Healy, former president of the American Red Cross, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.
State emergency rooms have seen a 27% rise in the number of patients that they have treated from 1990 to 1999, according to a study published yesterday in the April issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday ordered the Department of Managed Health Care to inform HMOs in the state that they must provide coverage for emergency contraception regardless of whether members have a prescription from a physician, the Sacramento Bee reports.
USDA Ends Participation in Program Allowing Foreign-Born Doctors to Practice in Underserved Areas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on March 1 ended its participation in a program that allowed foreign-born physicians to practice in underserved areas in the United States, a decision that could “threate[n] the future” of a number of rural hospitals nationwide, the Kansas City Star reports.
Nearly 100 Doctors at Memorial, Petaluma Valley Hospitals May Drop Blue Cross
About 100 doctors who practice at Memorial and Petaluma Valley Hospitals are “shunning medical contracts” with Blue Cross because they could not reach an agreement on reimbursement rates, and some are notifying their patients they may stop treating Blue Cross members after Monday, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Anti-Smoking, Cessation Programs Could Cut States’ Medicaid Costs by $550M, Study Finds
Increasing spending on anti-tobacco and smoking cessation programs is a “good investmen[t]” that can decrease states’ Medicaid spending by over half a billion dollars per year, according to a study released yesterday.