Latest California Healthline Stories
Many Medicare+Choice Plans Dropping Rx Drug Benefits
Responding to “soaring drug costs,” many Medicare+Choice plans are eliminating drug coverage or charging “sharply higher” copayments, the New York Times reports.
Anti-Smoking Group Will Run ‘Truth’ Ad During Super Bowl
The American Legacy Foundation, the organization behind the “Truth” anti-smoking advertising campaign, will run “at least one” commercial during Fox network’s broadcast of the Super Bowl on Feb. 3, USA Today reports.
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to Establish Telemedicine Network with U.S. Air Force
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Health System has received a $10 million federal grant to establish a partnership with the U.S. Air Force Medical Service to develop a telemedicine network linking the service to military outposts around the world, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Health Benefits Coalition Resumes Ad Campaign Against Patients’ Rights Legislation
The Health Benefits Coalition — a group of employers, insurance companies and business executives — has resumed advertisements urging Congress not to pass patients’ rights legislation, CongressDaily reports.
Health Gap Between Whites, Minorities Narrows in 1990s, But Disparities Remain
Although the health gap between whites and minorities narrowed in the 1990s, “substantial” disparities remain, according to a new CDC report released yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
HHS Approves Waiver to Expand Healthy Families Coverage to Parents
As expected, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson yesterday approved California’s plan to extend coverage to 300,000 uninsured residents — mostly low-income parents — through Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, the Orange County Register reports.
Health Care Experts Meet in Fresno To Discuss Options To Provide Care to Uninsured Californians
Medical, academic and health administration professionals met yesterday in Fresno to discuss options to provide health care services for the 6.8 million uninsured Californians, the Fresno Bee reports.
California Healthline Examines Bush Administration Health Post Vacancies
As the Bush administration begins its second year in office, there are several top positions in HHS left open, raising concerns among some lawmakers and policy experts.
Legislation Would Create Drug Purchasing Pool of State Agencies, Private Companies
California could save up to $100 million per year in prescription drug costs by forming a purchasing pool of various state agencies and private insurance purchasers that would negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies, according to a bill introduced yesterday in the Senate, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Placerville Surgeons May Open Outpatient Surgery Center; Plan Could Threaten Marshall Hospital
Several doctors at Marshall Hospital in Placerville have begun “talking seriously” about a proposal to open an outpatient surgery center, a plan that the hospital considers a “rebellious threat to its revenue,” the Sacramento Business Journal reports.