Latest California Healthline Stories
Women More Likely to Visit a Doctor for Preventive Care
A report released Wednesday by the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics confirms the “long-held belief” that women are more likely than men to visit a doctor and are twice as likely to go for preventive care.
Raising Medi-Cal Eligibility for People With Disabilities is ‘Fiscally Smart,’ Times Says
A bill (AB 925) that would allow “severely disabled adults” earning up to $75,000 annually to be eligible for Medi-Cal is “fiscally smart” and should be a “clear cut, fast-track priority” for state legislators, a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
UCSF 1978 Study Didn’t Report Outcomes in Research Similar to Johns Hopkins Asthma Study
Researchers who conducted a 1978 University of California-San Francisco study involving the drug hexamethonium — the same substance that caused the June death of a participant in a Johns Hopkins University asthma study — did not report that two volunteers in the study became ill, one “seriously,” after inhaling the substance, UCSF officials announced yesterday.
Blue Cross of California Drops All HMO Members in Napa County After Doctor Group Folds
Blue Cross of California has canceled its HMO plan in Napa County following the closure of a “major medical group,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Some Medical Schools Using Computer Simulators to Train Students
About 30 U.S. teaching hospitals have begun to use computer simulators to “make training doctors safer for patients,” USA Today reports.
Stanford to Use School Funds to Help Graduate Students Facing Higher Premiums for Dependents
Stanford University officials said yesterday that they will use school funds to help graduate students with dependents pay for health insurance premium increases expected this fall, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
USA Today Looks at Employers Cutting Benefits
Rising health care costs and a weakening economy are leading many large employers to reduce their retirees’ health benefits, a trend that is “angering” many retirees, USA Today reports.
Ventura County Workers Vote to End Strike After County Agrees to Review Proposed Pension Changes
Thousands of Ventura County employees, including hospital staff and social workers, returned to work today, after voting yesterday to end an eight-day strike over retirement benefits, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Large Employers Could See HMO Premium Hikes of 50%
Large employers that use HMOs to insure their workers could be “hit” next year with premium increases of “as much as 20% to 50%,” according to a recent survey of employer-sponsored health plans, Gannett News/Arizona Republic reports.
New Drug Labels for Oxycontin Carry FDA’s Strongest Warning
The prescription painkiller OxyContin will now bear the FDA’s “strongest type of warning” — a black box that says the drug is potentially as addictive as morphine and explains that chewing, snorting or injecting it can kill, the AP/New York Times reports.