Latest California Healthline Stories
HCA Must Pay Federal Government $745M in Five Days
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ruled yesterday that HCA Inc., the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, has five days to pay the government more than $745 million for defrauding federal health care programs, the AP/Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
Declining Surplus Threatens Reserve Fund for the Uninsured
The declining federal surplus could threaten a $28 billion reserve fund intended to provide coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, the Sacramento Bee reports.
PhRMA Sues to Block New Florida Medicaid Drug Law
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has filed suit against Florida to block a new law that requires pharmaceutical companies to provide discounts to have their drugs placed on the state’s Medicaid formulary, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Medi-Cal Policy Institute Releases Analysis Of Health Care Spending in 2001-02 State Budget
To provide an overview of the new expenditures and policy changes that have an impact on the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs in the state budget, the Medi-Cal Policy Institute, a project of the California HealthCare Foundation, asked the California Budget Project to prepare a brief budget summary, “Health Policy Changes in the 2001-02 California Budget.”
San Fernando Valley ERs Overcrowded, Turn Away Patients, Study Finds
Hospital closures, a lack of emergency room beds and a rise in chronic conditions such as asthma are forcing overcrowded ERs in San Fernando Valley to “tur[n] away larger numbers of poor, uninsured patients,” according to a study released today, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Scientists Tell NAS They Will Proceed with Human Cloning
Three researchers “vowed” yesterday at a National Academy of Sciences symposium on cloning to “press ahead with separate efforts to create the first cloned human being,” despite scientific experts’ warnings that such experiments would “inevitably” lead to miscarriage, stillborns, deformities and genetic disorders in children, the New York Times reports.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Cut ‘Megaflex’ Benefits from Doctors’ Contract
Unionized doctors working for Los Angeles County will lose their “megaflex” benefits under a contract package approved yesterday by the county Board of Supervisors, the Los Angeles Times reports.
In a “break” for drug offenders in Los Angeles County, the district attorney’s office yesterday said it will not ask for jail time for people convicted but not sentenced before Proposition 36 was implemented July 1, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Infant Mortality Among Blacks in Riverside County Rose Over Decade Ending in 1997
Infant mortality rates among blacks in Riverside County increased over the 10-year period ending in 1997, according to a Riverside Press-Enterprise analysis of state Department of Health Services statistics.
Lott Wants End to AMA Copyright on Medicare Billing Codes
Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has asked HHS to end the American Medical Association’s “monopoly” on Medicare and Medicaid billing codes, a system that he said has prevented patients from “shopping for medical care based on price” and “hampered efforts to reduce fraud,” the Washington Times reports.