Latest California Healthline Stories
Frustrated with Managed Care, Low Earnings, Many California Doctors Leave State, Retire
Many California doctors have returned to graduate school for degrees in other fields, left the state or retired early from the medical profession, which they have said “is no longer as professionally or financially rewarding as it once was,” the Los Angeles Daily News reports.
Davis Signs Bills to Curb Youth Smoking
Gov. Gray Davis (D) signed two bills yesterday designed to reduce youth smoking, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Supreme Court Rejects Public Hospitals’ Tobacco Appeal
The Supreme Court yesterday let stand a lower court ruling against Washington state public hospitals, which had sued the tobacco industry to recoup the “cost of treating smoking-related illnesses,” Bloomberg News/Los Angeles Times reports.
Statewide Flu Vaccination Efforts Begin This Week
Statewide flu immunization efforts begin this week, “amid concerns” that the vaccine will “be in short supply” again this year, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Texas Doctors Sue Cigna Over Payment Practices
Twenty-nine Texas doctors yesterday announced a lawsuit against Cigna Healthcare of Texas, alleging that the insurer has “intentionally and systematically” denied physicians payments to which they are contractually entitled, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Santa Ana Students to Ask School District Board to Modify ‘Abstinence-Focused’ Sex Education Program
A group of high school students in Santa Ana, “tired of seeing their friends get pregnant,” have decided that the school district’s “abstinence-focused” sex education curriculum “isn’t working” and plan to ask the school district board to modify the program, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Daschle’s ‘Strong Hopes’ for Health Bills Fade
Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said in an interview with the New York Times that his “strong hopes” for passing several health care bills this year have faded in the aftermath of the attacks on New York and the Pentagon.
Orange County Hospitals Prepared for Terrorist Attack, Survey Finds
In response to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Orange County Register surveyed 25 county hospitals to determine “what they’ve been doing to prepare” for a potential terrorist attack and “what they have yet to do.”
HHS Grants to States Address Several Issues
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on Sept. 28 announced several grant awards to help states address a number of health-related issues.
HHS Announces Grants to Address Nursing Shortage
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson announced last Friday at Georgetown University that the agency will provide $27.4 million in grants to 82 universities, colleges and related organizations nationwide to address the U.S. nursing shortage, which he called “one of America’s most serious health problems.