Latest California Healthline Stories
eHealth Initiative to Release Guidelines Outlining Use of Internet to Fight Bioterrorism
eHealth Initiative, a group of more than 50 companies promoting the use of technology in health care, will release guidelines today outlining how the government can use the Internet to fight bioterrorism, Bloomberg News/Los Angeles Times reports.
CHCF’s California Medicare Project Looks at Medicare+Choice Withdrawals
The California Medicare Project, an initiative of the California HealthCare Foundation, has released an analysis of how Californians will be affected by health plan withdrawals from Medicare+Choice next year.
Medicare+Choice Plans to Double Premiums, Cut Drug Coverage in Sacramento County
Citing increasing health care costs and low federal reimbursements, insurers offering Medicare+Choice plans in Sacramento County expect to double the cost of premiums or cut back on prescription drug benefits next year, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Gay Men Increasingly View AIDS as Less ‘Threatening’ Than in Previous Years
Gay men are not finding HIV/AIDS “as threatening as they once did,” possibly leading to a rise in HIV infection rates among this population, according to a new study of gay men in San Francisco, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Thompson to Consider Allowing Generic Version of Cipro
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said on Saturday that he would consider invoking a federal law allowing generic drug makers to bypass Bayer’s patent on Cipro, the only drug approved by the FDA to treat inhalation anthrax, the Washington Post reports.
Full Senate Approves Pediatric Exclusivity Bill
The Senate last Thursday approved by voice vote a bill expanding the 1997 FDA Modernization Act’s pediatric exclusivity rule, the AP/Billings Gazette reports.
Three New Anthrax Infections Bring Total to Nine
The number of people infected with anthrax disease has risen to nine, with three new infections announced since Friday, the Baltimore Sun reports.
InterValley Health Plan to Drop Commercial HMO Business
Citing continuing losses, InterValley Health Plan, one of the state’s few remaining not-for-profit HMOs, has announced plans to drop its commercial managed care business over the next year, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.
Better Data Needed to ‘Close Gaps’ in Racial/Ethnic Health Care Disparities
“[W]ide gaps” exist between federal initiatives designed to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care and how federal agencies are collecting data “needed to achieve these goals,” a new study from the Commonwealth Fund found.
FDA to ‘Crack Down’ on Illegal Sales of Cipro
The FDA has initiated a series of measures to “crack down” on illegal online Cipro sales “spurred” by the recent anthrax scare, AP/MSNBC reports.