Latest California Healthline Stories
Physician-Profiling Web Sites Often Inaccurate, Incomplete, Commonwealth Fund Report Says
Consumers who turn to physician-profiling Web sites for help in choosing a physician are likely to find “significant gaps in the accuracy and completeness” of the information provided, according to a new report from health care advocacy group the Commonwealth Fund.
Davis Announces $60 Million Initiative to Train 1,500 Nurses
Gov. Gray Davis (D) Wednesday announced a $60 million initiative to train 5,100 nurses over the next three years, the Los Angeles Times reports.
CBO Report Predicting Reduced 10-Year Surplus May Hinder Medicare Reform, Rx Drug Benefit
The Congressional Budget Office yesterday reported that the federal budget surplus over the next 10 years has “plunged” 71% from last year’s estimate — dropping from $5.6 trillion to $1.6 trillion — which may endanger proposals to reform Medicare and add a prescription drug benefit to the program, the AP/Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
‘Overwhelmed’ Emergency Rooms Increasingly Divert Critically Ill
“Overwhelmed” emergency rooms are “increasingly” diverting ambulances to other facilities and turning away “the sick and injured,” CBS News’ “60 Minutes II” reports.
Hastert to Propose ‘Broad’ 10-Year, $300B Prescription Drug Plan for Medicare
House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) next week will propose a “much broader” Medicare prescription drug benefit than he has supported in the past, a move that could “revive congressional efforts to subsidize prescription drug costs” for seniors, the Miami Herald reports.
Physician Group, Hopsital Consolidations Shift Power to Providers, Weber Says
The increasing consolidation of physicians groups and hospitals has helped to shift the balance of power from health plans to providers — a transformation that is leading to higher health care costs for consumers, BusinessWeek columnist Joseph Weber writes.
Rivalry Between Agencies Competing to Develop an AIDS Vaccine Wastes Money, Researcher Says
The “rivalry” between the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Defense — which are each planning to test separate AIDS vaccine candidates — has led them to develop very similar vaccines, amounting to a “massive waste of money and other resources,” the “prominent” AIDS researcher John Moore writes in a commentary in the current issue of Nature.
Nurse Staffing Ratios ‘Welcome,’ But Not ‘Cure’ for Health System, Press Democrat Editorial Says
Although the nurse staffing ratios announced yesterday by Gov. Gray Davis (D) serve as a “welcome addition,” the governor “should have taken the opportunity” to address “inadequate funding” and “staffing woes,” according to a Santa Rosa Press Democrat editorial.
Bush Administration Plans to Approve Waiver to Insure Parents of Children in Healthy Families
The Bush administration plans to approve a California proposal that would extend health coverage to 300,000 low-income parents through Healthy Families, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Barstow Veterans Home Likely to Receive Recertification as Skilled Nursing Facility
The state-run veterans home at Barstow, which lost federal certification and $5 million in federal funds to operate its skilled nursing facility in 2000, has passed a series of inspections and will likely begin to accept new patients who require skilled nursing care, the Los Angeles Times reports.