Latest California Healthline Stories
The California Endowment, the state’s largest health foundation, has given the not-for-profit group Loaves & Fishes about $400,000 for a new program designed to provide mental health services for homeless people, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Lawmakers May ‘Raid’ Medicare Part A Trust Fund
A recent economic slowdown, as well as the 11-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut that Congress passed in May, has begun “draining” revenue from the U.S. Treasury and may force the federal government to “dip” into the Medicare Part A trust fund this fall to cover expenses — “breaking a congressional promise not to do so,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Red Cross Raises Blood Prices to Hospitals
Facing $335 million in debt and claiming it has “underpriced blood for years,” the American Red Cross this week announced “huge price increases” for blood to providers nationwide, hitting New England hospitals especially hard, the Boston Globe reports.
An Illinois woman who suffered a cervical tear during an abortion is suing antiabortion activists for posting her picture and medical records on the Internet, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Los Angeles County Supervisors Move to Address Problems at County-USC, Nursing Shortage
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors took several steps Tuesday to improve care in the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center psychiatric emergency room and across the county’s troubled health system, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Union-Tribune Praises Bill that Would Allow Mexican Doctors, Dentists to Practice at State Clinic
While many doctors “were up in arms” over a bill (AB 1045) that would ease state licensing requirements, allowing 120 doctors and dentists from Mexico to “practice temporarily” in California, a San Diego Union-Tribune editorial points out that “professional indignation” has begun to “die down.”
State Supreme Court Limits Liability in Workers’ Compensation Lawsuits
The California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that businesses that hire contractors for dangerous jobs are not liable if a contractor’s employee is hurt or killed on the job, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Internal Tobacco Company Documents Reveal Price-Fixing Abroad
Internal documents from tobacco companies recently released as part of the 1998 national tobacco settlement indicate that several “major cigarette makers attempted to coordinate price increases and limit competition in parts of Europe, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Davis Requests $20M for Prostate Cancer Treatment Fund for the Uninsured
Low-income, uninsured men with prostate cancer could be eligible for state-funded treatment through a new program modeled after the California Breast Cancer Treatment Fund, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports.
Cheney Weighs In On Stem Cell Research
Vice President Dick Cheney has called congressional GOP leaders to “express concern” about a “widely publicized” letter from House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) and Republican Conference Chair J.C. Watts (R-Okla.), which “urged” President Bush to ban federal funding of embryonic stem cell research, the Wall Street Journal reports.