Latest California Healthline Stories
Thousand Oaks City Council Member Proposes Creation of New Hospital
To alleviate crowding at HCA — The Healthcare Co.’s Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Thousand Oaks City Council member Linda Parks plans to ask the council to form a subcommittee to investigate the creation of a second hospital, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA House Committee Investigating Advisory Panels
The Washington Times today examines FDA advisory committees, the subject of “mismanagement and influence peddling” claims and consequently, an investigation by the House Government Reform Committee.
USDA Announces Quality, Access Grants for Rural Health
Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman last Thursday announced the approval of $15 million in grants for 42 Distance Learning and Telemedicine programs that will benefit some of the nation’s remote rural areas.
HCFA Reform Package Includes New Name and Structure
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, acting on his pledge to reform HCFA, announced yesterday that the agency has been renamed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and will be reorganized into three divisions to promote greater responsiveness to states, providers and patients, the Washington Post reports.
Lawmakers ‘No Closer’ to Agreement on Patients’ Rights
After a White House meeting yesterday, the Bush administration and key senators moved “no closer” to an agreement on patients’ rights legislation, the Los Angeles Times reports.
State May Opt Out of Federal Breast Cancer Treatment Program for Uninsured Women
Health advocates are concerned that California’s uncertain economic status may dissuade Gov. Gray Davis (D) from participating in a state-federal program that allows uninsured women with breast cancer to receive treatment coverage through Medicaid, the Oakland Tribune reports.
CMA Says AMA MasterFile, Digital ID System Vulnerable to Hackers
The California Medical Association is raising concerns about the American Medical Association’s MasterFile, a nationwide physician database, and its digital identification program, “charg[ing]” that both systems are “open to hacking and unauthorized changes over the Internet,” the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Forbes.com Profiles Concerns, Benefits of Online Health Information
Forbes.com‘s “Best of the Web” Summer 2001 issue features an article on the benefits and problems associated with health information Web sites. According to a recent Harris Poll, nearly 100 million people turned to the Internet for medical advice last year.
Bush to Unveil ‘Set of Principles’ for Medicare Reform
President Bush, responding to the Senate power shift, will soon submit a Medicare reform plan, including “sweeping changes that would vastly expand the private sector’s role” in providing health coverage and prescription drug benefits, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Los Angeles Unified School District Plans to Reorganize Immigrant Student Clinic
The Los Angeles Unified School District is “preparing to dismantle” the Immigrant Student Assessment Center, a clinic and counseling center for the city’s immigrant students, citing budget cuts and a “space crunch,” the Los Angeles Times reports.