Latest California Healthline Stories
Legislature Considers Bill Granting Collective Bargaining Rights to Doctors
Under a bill (AB 1600) “working its way through the state Legislature,” doctors and medical groups could be exempted from federal antitrust laws and permitted to collectively bargain with health plans over payments, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
African-American Leaders Unveil Three-Part Plan to Fight HIV Spread Among State’s Minorities
More than 100 activists met Saturday in Los Angeles to discuss the “gravity” of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Thompson To Decide on Reimportation Safety ‘Soon’
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said on June 29 he will decide “soon, in the next 10 days,” whether to let the agency implement legislation passed last year that allows the reimportation of FDA-approved prescription drugs from overseas, CongressDaily/AM reports.
Bay Area Nurses Reject Catholic Healthcare West Contract Offer
Nurses at some Bay area Catholic Healthcare West hospitals have turned down proposed contract agreements and have authorized a strike if negotiations continue to “fail,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Catholic-Affiliated Charity Must Provide Contraceptive Coverage to Employees, California Court Rules
Catholic Charities, a church-affiliated social services organization, must provide contraceptive coverage for its female employees in California if it provides other prescription coverage, a California appellate court ruled yesterday.
Colorado Program Helps Doctors After Malpractice
The New York Times’ “Health & Fitness” section today reports on the Institute for Physician Evaluation, a Colorado program that evaluates and “rehabilitate[s] problem doctors” after they are disciplined by state medical boards.
‘Tussle’ Between Los Angeles County Officials, Union Stalls Health Employee Retraining Program
A “tussle” between Los Angeles County supervisors and Service Employees International Union Local 660, which represents most of the county’s health care employees, has delayed use of a $40 million fund that could decrease a “critical shortage” of nurses and other skilled medical employees in the county health system, the Los Angeles Times reports.
EDS Signs Contract to Administer Online Medi-Cal, Healthy Families Enrollment
Business services provider EDS will administer Health-e-App, California’s new Web-based enrollment tool for Medi-Cal and Healthy Families, and will continue to process claims and enrollment for Healthy Families under the terms of an 18-month, $64 million contract extension announced Friday.
PhRMA Sues Federal Government Over Maine Rx Drug Program
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has filed a lawsuit against the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) alleging that a Maine program to provide discounts on prescription drugs to an estimated 225,000 low- and moderate-income residents violates federal Medicaid laws and should not have been approved, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Patients’ Rights Debate Shifts to the House
“Battle lines” over patients’ rights legislation have “hardened” in the House, days after the Senate passed a patients’ rights bill sponsored by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Edwards (D-N.C.), CongressDaily reports.