Latest California Healthline Stories
PhRMA Plans to Launch ‘Major Educational Campaign’ Against State Prescription Drug Formularies
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America today plans to announce a “major educational campaign” designed to block proposed drug formulary plans in state programs such as Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal reports.
National Association of Chain Drug Stores to Offer Pharmacy Discount Card for Low-Income Seniors
The National Association of Chain Drug Stores plans to announce a program today to create a new prescription drug discount card for low-income seniors that would link discount plans offered by drug makers, the New York Times reports.
A bill (SB 1272) in the California Senate to allow embryonic stem cell research could have the state “heading for [a] … showdown” with the federal government, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Integrated Healthcare Association Names Two Health Plan Executives to Board
The Integrated Healthcare Association, a statewide coalition of health plans, physician groups and health care systems, last week announced the appointment of Santa Clara Family Health Plan CEO Leona Butler and Cigna HealthCare of California Inc. President Bud Volberding to the IHA board.
About half of the enrollees in L.A. CalKids, a health insurance program for low-income non-citizen children, do not re-enroll in the program before their coverage lapses, despite the fact that the program does not require enrollees to pay premiums, according to a study sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.
In a move that may signal that the Bush administration intends to continue the government’s “legal battle” with the tobacco industry, the Justice Department will request that a federal judge implement “tough restrictions on the marketing, manufacture and sale” of cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Bush Administration May Not Unveil New Ergonomics Rule Until After Spring Congressional Recess
The Bush administration may not unveil a new ergonomics rule until after the spring congressional recess in April, CongressDaily/AM reports. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which planned to hold a hearing on the issue last Thursday, cancelled the meeting at the request of the administration.
Health Privacy Project Releases Updated Summaries of State Privacy Statutes
Georgetown University Medical Center’s Health Privacy Project yesterday released new summaries of the health privacy statutes in six states, as the first step in updating its 1999 report, “The State of Health Privacy: An Uneven Terrain.”
The San Mateo County Children and Families First Commission plans to use funds from its share of Proposition 10 tobacco taxes for a new initiative that would “guarantee health care” to all children in the county until age six, regardless of immigration status or household income, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Bill Would Require Review of State’s HIV Reporting System
A bill (AB 2994) introduced on Monday by Assembly member Roderick Wright (D-Los Angeles) would require the Department of Health Services to perform an audit of the state’s HIV reporting system and would authorize the department to issue emergency regulations to bring California into compliance if the system is found not to comply with federal rules.