Latest California Healthline Stories
State, Counties Move to Shore Up Responses to Potential Bioterrorist Threats
As fears about bioterrorism continue to grow nationwide, California officials on the state and local level have taken several steps recently to address the issue and decrease the threat posed by a possible attack.
Supreme Court Upholds Right to Sue Calif. M+C Plans
The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear an appeal of a case giving California Medicare beneficiaries in HMOs the right to sue their health plans over denials of care, the Los Angeles Times reports.
AHIMA Issues Guidelines for Defining ‘Legal Health Records’
The American Health Information Management Association has issued new guidelines to help health care organizations reassess their definitions of what constitutes a “legal health care record” in light of recent advances in medical records technologies, AHA News reports.
Florida Man in Stable Condition; No New Anthrax Cases
The second Florida man exposed to anthrax — American Media Inc. employee Ernesto Blanco — remains in stable condition in a hospital and did not develop the disease.
San Francisco Chronicle Profiles Potrero Hill Health Center
The San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday profiled the Potrero Hill Health Center, a 25-year-old community clinic that has “survived the murder of its first medical director,” the financial perils of managed care and several attempts to close it.
Public Health Experts Urge Congressional Action
A group of public health experts warned lawmakers yesterday that the United States is “woefully unprepared” to address a biological or chemical attack and urged them to address the problem, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
HHS ‘Backlog’ of State Medicaid Waivers ‘Cleared’
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced yesterday that the department has “cleared a backlog” of 396 proposed amendments to state Medicaid programs — some pending for several years — since the Bush administration took office Jan. 20.
Davis Vetoes Two Bills, Signs Several Others
Because of concerns about the state’s “tottering economy,” Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday vetoed two bills that would have “made health care more accessible” to low-income residents, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Davis Should Sign All ‘Good’ Mental Health Reform Bills, Los Angeles Times Says
Gov. Gray Davis (D) took a “significant step” to address the number of California residents with mental illness who go untreated each year by signing a bill (AB 1424) that will “close a big hole in the state’s safety net,” a Los Angeles Times editorial says.
Second Man Exposed to Anthrax as U.S. Steps Up Investigation
A second Florida man has been exposed to anthrax, and U.S. officials have initiated a “vigorou[s]” investigation into the causes of the exposure, the Los Angeles Times reports.