Latest California Healthline Stories
Rep. Berry Criticizes House GOP Patients’ Rights Bill
During the Democrats’ weekly radio address Saturday, Rep. Marion Berry (D-Ark.) “slammed” the patients’ rights bill passed in the Republican-controlled House this month, calling the legislation an “HMO and insurance company protection act,” the AP/Bergen Record reports.
Baja California Health Department Begins Shutting Down ‘Alternative Treatment’ Centers
Health inspectors for the Baja California health department have closed down at least six “alternative treatment centers” near Tijuana this year as part of a “crackdown” on such facilities, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Amid Nursing Shortage, Nursing Programs Forced to Turn Away Qualified Candidates
A “lack of space and money” is leading many California colleges and universities to “tur[n] away eligible nursing candidates,” thereby exacerbating the state’s nursing shortage, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Lawsuit Alleges False Advertising by Schering Plough
A coalition of more than 50 health activist organizations has filed a class-action lawsuit against Schering-Plough alleging that it has improperly marketed its blockbuster allergy drug Claritin by overstating its effectiveness.
Davis Signs Law Requiring Insurers to Pay for Clinical Trials for Cancer Patients
Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday signed into a law a measure requiring health plans to pay for “routine treatment costs” for patients in clinical cancer trials, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Scully Promises to Improve Medicare+Choice
Thomas Scully, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA), hopes to “encourage” private health plans to participate in Medicare+Choice, Medicare’s managed care program, and said that the “No. 1 issue is to put more money” into the program for HMOs, the Washington Post reports.
San Diego City Council Committee Recommends ID Cards for Medical Marijuana Users
A San Diego City Council committee Wednesday recommended that the city develop identification cards for medical marijuana users to “protect them from arrest,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Sonoma County Home Health Workers Vote to Join Union
Home health care workers in Sonoma County yesterday voted “overwhelmingly” to unionize, “pav[ing] the way for negotiations” on wages and health benefits, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Physician Accused of Administering, Charging for Injections Containing Saline Rather than HIV Drugs
An Orange County physician has been accused of intravenously administering saline solution instead of AIDS drugs to HIV-positive patients for financial gain, the Orange County Register reports.
Bush OKs Partial Federal Funding for Stem Cell Research
President Bush last night said he would allow federal funding for experiments involving stem cells already derived from embryos but not for research that would cause the destruction of further embryos, the Los Angeles Times reports.