Latest California Healthline Stories
Three California women filed a lawsuit Wednesday in San Diego Superior Court against Planned Parenthood of San Diego and Riverside counties and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America alleging that the organization “withholds information” on a possible link between abortion and breast cancer, the Associated Press reports.
DOJ Says Rx Discount Plan Was Crafted Legally
Responding to a suit filed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association asking to stop implementation of President Bush’s Medicare drug discount plan, the Department of Justice said the proposal to create the plan was “crafted legally” and the groups’ claims should be “denied,” CongressDaily reports.
Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Dietary Supplement ‘Andro’ Manufacturers
Attorney General Bill Lockyer (D) has filed a lawsuit against 35 makers of androstenedione, or “andro,” arguing that the dietary supplement is “akin” to steroids and “should be covered” under Proposition 65, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher Will Not Seek Reappointment
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said yesterday he will not seek reappointment after his four-year term ends in February, though he intends to “serve the remainder of my term in its entirety,” the Associated Press reports.
NIH Negotiates with Wisconsin Group Over Stem Cell Patent
The New York Times features a front-page article on the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation’s patent on human embryonic stem cells, and describes how the “complex tangle of intellectual property rights” has become a “pressing concern” for the NIH, as it seeks access to those cells for research.
House Patients’ Rights Bill Would ‘Undercut’ State Laws
Although patients would “gain at least a little protection” under the patients’ rights bill that the House passed earlier this month, a Los Angeles Times editorial warns that the legislation would override “stronger patient protections” in California’s patients’ rights law and urges House and Senate negotiators to “get to work on changing that.”
Healthy Families Enrolls 100,000 Children in Four Months
Healthy Families has enrolled 100,000 children in the past four months, bringing the total count to more than 450,000 children by the end of July.
Proposition 36 Brings ‘Few Surprises’ in Fresno County
Since Proposition 36 was implemented on July 1, the law has “yielded few surprises” in Fresno County, the Fresno Bee reports.
Hypertension Unrelated to Insurance Status, Study Finds
Despite a perception that uncontrolled hypertension is linked to poverty and lack of health insurance, a study published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine has found that “the vast majority” of people with uncontrolled hypertension have health insurance and see a doctor, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Hispanics Have Highest U.S. Death Rate Liver Cirrhosis
Hispanics have the highest death rate from cirrhosis of the liver according the a new study from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the AP/Bergen Record reports.