Latest California Healthline Stories
Frist Announces Support for Stem Cell Research
Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), the Senate’s only physician and a “close ally” of President Bush, yesterday announced his support for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research at a Senate subcommittee hearing on the issue, but called for “fairly tight restrictions” on the research, the New York Times reports.
Budget Woes Could ‘Take Toll’ on Elder Services
As the Legislature continues to debate the state budget, the wait could “take its toll on the small agencies that care for the elderly,” the Sacramento Bee reports.
Blue Cross of California yesterday announced that it has received more than $4 million in grants from the state Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board to improve health care access for children in underserved and rural communities.
Most Health Care Providers Unprepared for HIPAA Electronic Transaction Standards Compliance
Eighty-five percent of health care providers have not completed “assessments or gap analyses” of the requirements necessary to comply with electronic transaction standards mandated by the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, according to a study conducted by Gartner Inc.
Blue Shield Drops Three San Jose Hospitals from Network
In a contract dispute over reimbursement rates, Blue Shield of California has dropped three “prominent” San Jose hospitals from its network, a move that could increase costs and “disrupt” health care for as many as 75,000 members in Santa Clara County, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
First Round of Tobacco Settlement Talks Focuses on Money
Justice Department officials and lawyers for the tobacco industry held their first round of settlement talks yesterday regarding the government’s multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the nation’s leading tobacco companies, and the two sides remain divided over whether a monetary payment should be part of any agreement, the Wall Street Journal reports.
New State Law Requires Chicken Pox Vaccinations Before Children Enter Kindergarten, Day Care
California children must receive a chicken pox vaccination to enter kindergarten under a state law that took effect July 1, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
The economic “boom” of the mid-1990s “has created a generation of children who are better off” than their older siblings based on a number of health indicators, according to “America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Wellbeing in 2001,” an annual report compiled by the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, the Washington Post reports.
House Subcommittee Hears Both Sides of Stem Cell Debate
At a hearing of the House Committee on Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources yesterday, advocates for both sides of the debate over federal funding of embryonic stem cell research used “dueling images to put a human face” on the issue, the
New York Times reports.
Low-Income Women At Higher Risk for Health Problems
Women on welfare, especially those who are unemployed, experience physical and emotional health problems at a “significantly” higher rate than other American women, making it difficult for them to move off public assistance, according to a new study in four U.S. cities.