Latest California Healthline Stories
Parkview Community Hospital Files for Federal Bankruptcy Protection
Parkview Community Hospital in Riverside filed for federal Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week in the wake of state and federal investigations that temporarily dropped the facility from Medicare and Medi-Cal after finding that the health and safety of its patients were in “immediate jeopardy,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Davis Announces $10.8M in Grants for the Mentally Ill Homeless
As part of the Governor’s Homeless Initiative, Gov. Gray Davis (D) on Monday announced grants worth $10.8 million to 17 local mental health agencies to treat people with mental illnesses who are homeless.
Smokers in 11 States File Class-Action Suits Against Three Tobacco Companies Over ‘Light’ Labels
A number of smokers in 11 states have filed class-action lawsuits seeking billions of dollars from tobacco companies for allegedly labelling cigarettes with terms such as “light” to mislead smokers into “believing those brands are safer,” the AP/San Jose Mercury News reports.
FDA Criticizes Gilead for ‘False and Misleading Claims’ Made to Physicians About HIV Treatment
The FDA has “scolded” biotech firm Gilead Sciences for making “several false and misleading claims” to physicians about its new antiretroviral drug Viread, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Health Affairs Web Exclusive Examines ‘Renewed Emphasis’ on Cost Sharing
James Robinson, a professor of health economics at the University of California-Berkeley, examines the “renewed emphasis” being placed on consumer cost sharing in health benefit packages in a Health Affairs Web exclusive released last week.
Syphilis is on the rise among gay and bisexual men in many major U.S. cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, causing public health officials to fear that an increase in HIV infections is not far behind, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Medicare Trustees Release New Long-Term Financial Estimates, Predict Part A Solvency Until 2030
Long-term financial estimates for Medicare have improved slightly in the past year, despite the recession that began last March, according to a new report released yesterday by the six trustees of the programs.
CDC Offers Guidelines to Physicians to Reduce Spread of Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Hospitals
As part of an effort to slow the spread of potentially fatal drug-resistant bacteria in hospitalized adults, the CDC yesterday launched a new campaign to provide physicians with advice on antibiotic use, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Bush Announces Nominees for Surgeon General, NIH Director
As expected, President Bush yesterday nominated an Arizona trauma surgeon who is also a sheriff’s deputy to become surgeon general and a Johns Hopkins University radiologist and administrator to head the NIH, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Eliminating Consent Requirement Would Take ‘Teeth’ Out of Medical Privacy Rule, Union-Tribune Says
The Bush administration’s proposal to eliminate a requirement that providers, insurers, pharmacies and researchers obtain written consent from patients before they disclose their medical records would remove the “teeth” from new federal medical privacy rules, a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial says.