Latest California Healthline Stories
House Passes $123 Billion Labor-HHS Appropriations Bill
The House yesterday approved $123 billion in discretionary spending on health, education and labor programs for this fiscal year, an almost $14 billion increase from last year, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Davis Orders 15% Cut in Agency Budgets
Citing California’s “weakening” economy, the energy crisis and fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday ordered state agencies to cut their budgets by 15%, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Davis Signs Health-Related Bills Into Law
Facing an Oct. 14 deadline to sign into law bills passed in the most recent legislative session, Gov. Gray Davis (D) recently signed additional health-related legislation.
Davis Signs Bill Establishing New Reimbursement Method for Nursing Facilities
Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday signed legislation (AB 1075) that will change “dramatically” the way Medi-Cal reimburses nursing homes, giving the facilities “more flexibility,” the Contra Costa Times reports.
Number of Adult Smokers Holds Steady, CDC Finds
The number of American adults who smoke has held steady over the last several years, at nearly one in four, according to a CDC study released yesterday, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Institute of Medicine Report Predicts Rise in Number of Uninsured, Profiles Population
An Institute of Medicine study released yesterday found that the increased cost of health insurance and a slower economy will likely boost the number of uninsured Americans in future years, the AP/Nando Times reports.
FDA Approves Pacemaker with Transmitter
The FDA yesterday approved a pacemaker “outfitted with a tiny transmitter” that allows doctors to monitor a patient’s heart from a different room — the “first medical implant capable of such real-time monitoring,” the AP/Baltimore Sun reports.
More people in San Francisco may need to rely on public hospitals and clinics due to the area’s “soft economy,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Davis Removes State Funding from Drug Testing Bill; State Will Still Receive Federal Funds
Gov. Gray Davis (D) has vetoed a provision in a bill (SB 223) that would provide $9.8 million in state funding to pay for drug testing under Proposition 36, the Sacramento Bee reports.
First-Time Donations Help End Ventura County’s Blood Shortage
In the weeks following the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, 4,300 Ventura County residents either donated or “pledged a pint” of blood for the first time, ending the county’s two-year blood shortage, the Los Angeles Times reports.