Latest California Healthline Stories
Following Contaminated Injections, State Bill Would Increase Restrictions on Pharmacies
A “deadly spate of infections” in May resulting from contaminated steroid injections at a Walnut Creek pharmacy “has spurred” a bill that would bolster state inspection and oversight of pharmacies, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Physicians, Politicians Seek CDC Chief’s Resignation
Saying that the “failure of public health efforts to prevent the STD epidemic in America is related to the CDC’s ‘safe-sex’ promotion and its attempts to withhold from the American people the truth of condom ineffectiveness,” numerous physician groups and members of Congress yesterday called for the “immediate resignation” of CDC Director Dr. Jeffrey Koplan and urged the FDA to require condom labeling that “reflects the clinical science on condom effectiveness.”
Fletcher Patients’ Rights Bill Lacks Votes for Passage
Despite a “full-throttled campaign” by the Bush administration to push patients’ rights legislation sponsored by Rep. Ernie Fletcher (R-Ky.) and backed by the House Republican leadership, the bill does not have enough supporters to pass, White House officials and Bush’s congressional allies “acknowledged” yesterday, the Washington Post reports.
Parties Split on How to Expand Coverage for the Uninsured
The patients’ bill of rights legislation that the House will debate today does “nothing” for the millions of residents who lack health coverage, and addressing the issue of the uninsured “has so split the parties that doing nothing has become the likeliest outcome,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Chronicle Reports on Problems in State Mental Health Hospitals
The San Francisco Chronicle this weekend reported on a “fundamental flaw” within California’s mental health system: housing “[c]riminally inclined, often violent patients” in state hospitals that are “ill-equipped to handle them.”
Striking Ventura County Employees Reject County Offer
Representing striking Ventura County employees, including employees of the county health care agency and some staff at Ventura County Medical Center, officials of Service Employees International Union Local 998 yesterday rejected a new contract offer from the county, a move that could prolong the strike through the end of the week, the Ventura County Star reports.
81% of Low-Income Adults Don’t Qualify for Public Health Care
A Families USA report released last week revealed that 81% of low-income, uninsured adults — more than 13 million individuals — do not qualify for Medicaid or other public health coverage in the state in which they reside.
AHA Questions Benefits of Hormone Therapy
Healthy women should not take hormones after menopause to prevent heart disease, and those with heart disease should not begin hormone treatment, according to new guidelines released yesterday by the American Heart Association.
R&D Costs Overstated by Drug Makers, Public Citizen Says
Although the pharmaceutical industry maintains that research and development for each new drug totals $500 million, a new report by Public Citizen puts the cost at about $110 million, the Boston Globe reports.
Blue Shield of California’s Decision to Drop Three San Jose Hospitals Angers Patients, Physicians
Doctors and patients in the San Jose area are “fuming” over Blue Shield of California’s decision to “drop” three hospitals from its network after a dispute over reimbursement rates, the San Jose Mercury News/Contra Costa Times reports.