Latest California Healthline Stories
FTC Questions Patent Listings on Brand-Name Rx Drugs
The Federal Trade Commission has launched an investigation into at least four cases in which brand-name drug makers may have “inappropriately listed” patents in the FDA Orange Book, a summary of drugs and patents, to prevent lower-cost generic drugs from reaching the market, USA Today reports.
GAO Subpoenas Pfizer CEO For Failing to Give Rx Prices
General Accounting Office investigators have subpoenaed Pfizer Inc.’s CEO Dr. Henry McKinnell, after the company failed to provide the agency with requested prescription drug pricing information, the New York Times reports.
KQED’s ‘The California Report’ Set to Air Second Season of ‘Health Dialogues’
The California Report, a daily statewide news and public affairs program produced by San Francisco-based KQED Public Radio, will run a second 16-part series of the statewide call-in show “Health Dialogues.”
Consumer Group Files False-Advertising Lawsuit Against Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest not-for-profit HMO, “deceived members” through an advertising campaign stating that all medical decisions were “in the hands of doctors,” according to a lawsuit filed by a consumer group, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Los Angeles County Offers Special Court for Juveniles With Mental Health Problems
Los Angeles County last fall launched what is thought to be the first juvenile mental health court in the country, a “modest” experiment in the juvenile justice system that focuses “only on youths with diagnosed mental health problems,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
AARP Readies New Push for a Medicare Rx Drug Benefit
Behind its new executive director, “marketing whiz” Bill Novelli, AARP is planning to launch an “extensive lobbying push and grassroots campaign” this month to press President Bush and Congress to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit, National Journal reports.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers Cited for Rising Rx Costs
Major health care purchasers, such as large companies and public employers, increasingly say that pharmacy benefit managers have not “done enough” to keep prescription drug prices under control, the New York Times reports.
State Medical Board Web Site Lacks Information on Malpractice Verdicts
An online database administered by the Medical Board of California often lacks information about malpractice verdicts and arbitration awards against doctors, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Daschle, Bush Tout Rival Economic Stimulus Proposals
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and President Bush this weekend traded comments over taxes and the economy, touching briefly on health care issues.
Tenet Healthcare Posts Largest-Ever Operating Earnings
Santa Barbara-based Tenet Healthcare Corp., the nation’s second-largest for-profit hospital chain and one of the “most powerful players in the health-care industry,” reported its “strongest quarterly operating earnings growth ever,” with an operating profit increase of 47% for the second fiscal quarter, which ended Nov. 30, the Los Angeles Times reports.