Latest California Healthline Stories
Federal Lawmakers Approve $250K for Valley Children’s Hospital Asthma Program
As part of the federal Labor-HHS appropriations bill passed by Congress this week, the Madera-based Valley Children’s Hospital will receive $250,000 to establish an asthma program, the Fresno Bee reports.
California Healthline Reviews the Year in Health Policy
Health policy issues received much media coverage in 2001, but by the end of the year little action had been taken in many of those areas.
Senate Passes $3.2B Bioterrorism Plan
The Senate yesterday passed a $3.2 billion bioterrorism authorization bill sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), CongressDaily/AM reports.
Senate Approves $123B Labor-HHS Appropriations Measure
The Senate yesterday approved the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill on a 90-7 vote, providing spending increases for the NIH and other programs, the New York Times reports.
Pelosi Defends San Francisco Group’s ‘Explicit’ HIV Prevention Workshops as ‘Heroic’
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) has written a letter to HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson defending the “sexually explicit” HIV prevention workshops run by the San Francisco-based Stop AIDS Project, calling the organization’s work “heroic” and “deserving” of government funding, the Washington Times reports.
Consumer Groups Sue Rx Drug Companies Over Alleged Price Manipulation
The Prescription Access Litigation project, a consumer coalition based in Boston, has sued 28 pharmaceutical companies, alleging that they manipulate Medicare drug prices by selling doctors “deeply discounted” medications while encouraging the physicians to bill the government at full price, the Boston Globe reports.
Florida Company Set to Sell Microchip Implants to Carry Medical Records, Identification
Palm Beach, Fla.-based Applied Digital Solutions is poised to become the first company to sell microchips designed to be implanted into the human body, paving the way for new medical monitoring and identification, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Stanford University Suspends Teaching Privileges of Nezhat Brothers
Stanford University has suspended the teaching privileges of Drs. Camran Nezhat, Farr Nezhat and Ceana Nezhat after an independent investigation found “seriously deficient scholarship” in their published research, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
House Economic Stimulus Bill ‘Buried’ in Senate
Congress “officially buried” the economic stimulus package yesterday, after Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) declined to schedule a Senate vote on a bill approved by the House early that morning, the Washington Post reports.
Los Angeles Times Urges Schools to Broaden Physical Education to Promote Healthier Children
Discussing data recently released by the state showing that 80% of the California’s fifth-, seventh- and ninth-graders failed to meet the state’s minimum fitness standards in testing last spring, a Los Angeles Times editorial states that schools are both “part of the problem and offer part of the solution.”