Latest California Healthline Stories
White House Releases Reduced Surplus Estimates
The Bush administration yesterday released a revised FY 2001 budget report estimating that the projected federal budget surplus has “shriveled” by $123 billion since April, “setting the stage for a bitter partisan struggle” over funding for a Medicare prescription drug benefit and other proposals, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Alta District Hospital Files for Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
As expected, financially troubled Alta District Hospital in Dinuba filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection Tuesday in U.S. bankruptcy court in Fresno, the Fresno Bee reports.
Seniors Should Look into Medicare Supplement Health Plans, SecureHorizons Official Says
With low Medicare payments and rising medical and prescription drug costs “forc[ing]” many Medicare+Choice plans to exit some markets, it is “vital” that seniors be aware of “all the options to the original Medicare and Medicare+Choice programs,” including Medigap or Medicare supplement plans, Kathy Feeny, senior vice president of SecureHorizons, PacifiCare’s Medicare+Choice plan, writes in a San Diego Union-Tribune op-ed.
FDA Will Delay Blood Ban Until Fall 2002
The FDA will likely decide to outlaw blood supplies from Europe, but the ban would not take effect before fall 2002 “to allow sufficient time for the system to adjust,” Dr. Jay Epstein, director of the FDA’s Office of Blood Research and Review, said yesterday.
AHIMA Official Says HIPAA ‘Minimum’ Standards Need Strengthening
“Additional requirements” should be added to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s privacy provisions in order to keep patient health information from those who do not need access to all or part of it, a vice president of the American Health Information Management Association said yesterday.
Rising Drug Costs to Boost State Medicaid Spending
State expenditures on Medicaid are expected to increase by 11.1% in FY 2002, fueled mostly by rising pharmaceutical costs, according to preliminary figures from a survey by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, the Wall Street Journal reports.
States Act to Counter Rx Drug Sales Reps
Faced with drug cost increases of 15% to 20% in their Medicaid programs, states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Maine, Michigan and Oregon have begun sending pharmacists to “urge doctors to write fewer prescriptions and to switch to cheaper drugs, such as generics,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Artificial Heart Recipient Makes First Public Appearance
After seven weeks of anonymity, 59-year-old Robert Tools, the first patient to receive a totally enclosed artificial heart, spoke publicly yesterday about living with experimental device, the Washington Post reports.
California Endowment Announces $16M Spending Plan for Migrant Health Initiative
The California Endowment yesterday announced that it has determined how to spend $16 million in grants aimed at improving health care for the state’s migrant farmworkers, the Sacramento Bee reports.
California Lung Cancer Patient Accepts $100M Damage Award in Tobacco Lawsuit
The California smoker who was awarded $3 billion in a verdict against Philip Morris has opted to accept a $100 million damage award set by the judge presiding over the lawsuit, the Los Angeles Times reports.