Latest California Healthline Stories
Bush Advisor’s Meeting with PhRMA Sparks Conflict of Interest Talk
A June 5 “lobbying visit” by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America president Alan Holmer with Karl Rove, President Bush’s top political strategist, “has raised some eyebrows on Capitol Hill” because at the time, Rove owned stock in two large drug companies, the National Journal reports.
Stanford to Transfer Graduate Students with Dependents from HMO to More Expensive PPO
Facing a “financial crisis,” Stanford Hospital and Clinics has announced that it will cancel its “money-losing” HMO contracts, including one that covers dependents of Stanford graduate students, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
URAC to Release Health Web Site Accreditation Standards July 30
Not-for-profit URAC, formerly the American Accreditation Health Care Commission, on July 30 will issue a list of accreditation standards for online health sites, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Will a Medicare Rx Drug Benefit ‘Fall Short’ of Expectations?
“[E]ven the most generous benefits” being considered for a Medicare prescription drug plan could “fall far short of what many of the elderly expect,” the New York Times reports.
Bush to Maintain Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
The Bush administration will maintain the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS — a panel established under former President Clinton — combining the council with President Bush’s Cabinet-level AIDS task force to address the administration’s AIDS agenda, AP/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.
Kaiser CEO Lawrence to Retire Next Year
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. chairman and CEO David Lawrence said he plans to retire next year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The impasse over the state budget for fiscal year 2001-02 continued yesterday, with Assembly Republicans “again closing ranks to block passage” of several appropriations measures needed to implement the spending plan, saying that a measure to expand Healthy Families would also expand funding for abortions, the Sacramento Bee reports.
NIH Report Questions Effectiveness of Condoms Against STDs
An NIH report to be released today says that there is “insufficient evidence” that male latex condoms prevent transmission of “most” STDs other than HIV and gonorrhea, giving advocates of “abstinence-only” sex education “fresh ammunition,” the Washington Post reports.
Johns Hopkins University Ordered to Halt Human Research
The federal Office of Human Research Protections yesterday ordered Johns Hopkins University to halt all federally funded human medical experiments after concluding that “widespread lapses in safety procedures” contributed to the June death of a 24-year-old woman who participated in an asthma study, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Some States Provide Care to the Undocumented Immigrants
Several states are working to offer more services, including health care, to immigrants who are undocumented, sometimes “in defiance of federal rules,” the Christian Science Monitor reports.