Latest California Healthline Stories
Judge Sets Date For Suit Against Bush Administration’s Prescription Discount Card Plan
In the lawsuit filed by the National Association of Chain Drug Stores and the National Community Pharmacists Association over President Bush’s proposal to offer seniors a prescription drug discount card, a federal judge has set a hearing for Sept. 6, CongressDaily reports.
Bush Should Follow Through on ‘Promise’ to Help State Amend Healthy Families, Union-Tribune Says
Allowing 170,000 additional parents and 130,000 children to enroll in Healthy Families “makes sense on several levels, not the least of which that it is the humane thing to do,” a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial states.
Bayer Voluntarily Withdraws Statin After 31 Deaths
Prompted by 31 deaths linked to use of the cholesterol-lowering drug Baycol, Bayer AG announced yesterday that it is voluntarily withdrawing the drug from the world market, the New York Times reports.
Community Hospital of Long Beach Gets $2M Donation
Since reopening in June, Community of Hospital of Long Beach has seen its expenses rise, but a $2 million donation from the Pacific Hospital Charitable Foundation this week will help the facility cover some of its costs, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports.
Aetna Rising Medical Costs Drop Q2 Profits by 94%
The “country’s largest insurer,” Aetna Inc., yesterday reported a 94% drop in second quarter net income and attributed the “disappointing results” to increases in medical costs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Davis Signs Bill Banning Smoking on Playgrounds
To reduce children’s exposure to second-hand smoke, Gov. Gray Davis (D) yesterday signed a measure that will ban the use of cigarettes, cigars, pipes or other tobacco products on “playgrounds or tot lots,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Oakland Nursing Home Fined, Reprimanded for Patient’s Death
State health inspectors have levied a $70,000 fine and issued the “stiffest penalty possible” to Medical Hill Rehabilitation Center in Oakland for allegedly “failing to monitor” the special needs of an 88-year-old man and “directly causing” his death, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Davis Administration Presses HHS to Approve Healthy Families Expansion
The administration of Gov. Gray Davis (D) is growing “increasingly angry” with the Bush administration’s failure to approve a proposed waiver that would expand Healthy Families to cover an estimated 450,000 additional low-income adults and children, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
AMA Under GOP ‘Assault’ for Increased Democrat Support
With the American Medical Association having over the past several years shifted its support from the Republican to the Democratic party, the GOP has “launched an assault” on the doctors’ organization, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Some Massachusetts Community Centers Teaching Seniors to Order Prescription Drugs Online from Canada
Frustrated with the high prices of prescription drugs in the United States, a growing number of Massachusetts seniors are learning how to illegally order prescription drugs from Canada using the Internet, the Boston Globe reports.