Latest California Healthline Stories
‘Outdated’ Computer Systems Make Insurers an ‘Attractive Target’ for Hackers
A new study has found that insurers, which often use “outdated” computer systems, represent “especially attractive targets” for computer hackers and should “step up their cyber-security,” the Hartford Courant reports.
Increase in Workers’ Compensation Approved by Legislature; Faces Uncertain Future
The Senate voted 25-13 along party lines yesterday to approve (SB 71) a bill that would increase over five years compensation for permanently injured workers to a minimum of $230 per week from the current $140 per week, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Blue Shield, Sutter Health Reach Agreement for 2002
Sacramento-based Sutter Health has renewed a contract with San Francisco-based Blue Shield of California to provide health services for the insurer’s Northern California members in 2002, the Sacramento Bee reports.
HMOs Doing Better on Preventive Measures, NCQA Finds
More Americans enrolled in HMOs are receiving preventive treatments such as screenings and blood pressure medications, and are also reporting greater satisfaction with their health plans, according to a report released yesterday by the National Committee on Quality Assurance.
Health Insurance Premiums Up 11%, Employees Could Pay More
For the first time since 1992, inflation for employer health care costs “broke into double digits,” increasing 11%, “a sure sign that consumers would soon pay more for medical coverage,” a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust says.
New Panel Rules FDA Should Have Approved Gel
In a “big upset” for the FDA, a new panel of “independent scientific advisers” yesterday ruled that the agency should have approved a gel that helps reduce internal scarring from pelvic surgery, the AP/Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
Norwood Has ‘Second Thoughts’ About Patients’ Rights Deal
Rep. Charles Norwood (R-Ga.) has “signaled second thoughts” about the deal he made with President Bush to push the patients’ rights bill through the House, CongressDaily/AM reports.
Bush to Launch Effort to ‘Ease’ Nursing Home Regulations
The Bush administration in the next few weeks will unveil a “nursing home quality initiative” that would ease federal regulation of the industry and would require the government to compile quality of care information about nursing homes and provide that data to the public.
Federal Court Blocks Bush Plan for Rx Drug Card
A federal court yesterday temporarily delayed the implementation of President Bush’s plan to offer prescription drug discount cards to Medicare beneficiaries, ruling that the White House may have “lacked the authority” to establish the program without congressional approval, the Washington Post reports.
States in U.S. ‘Midsection’ Address Immigrant Care
Health care officials in several states across the “nation’s midsection” — which has experienced the largest growth in immigrant population over the past ten years — are beginning to “pa[y] … attention to” the health issues of those immigrants, USA Today reports.