Latest California Healthline Stories
Hahn Defeats Villaraigosa in Los Angeles Mayoral Race
City Attorney James Hahn (D) yesterday defeated former state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa (D) 54% to 46% in the race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Texas Officials Target Doctors Providing Online Consultations, Prescriptions
The Texas State Board of Pharmacy last week adopted a policy prohibiting pharmacists from dispensing medications if they “know or should have known that the prescription was issued based on an Internet or telephonic consultation without a valid patient-practitioner relationship,” the AP/Dallas Morning News reports.
Watson Wins Dixon’s U.S. House Seat
Former state Sen. Diane Watson (D) “sailed to victory” last night in the race for the congressional seat left vacant after the death of Rep. Julian Dixon (D), capturing 75% of the vote, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Hospitals Reacting to Nursing Shortage, Survey Finds
While many have predicted that a dearth of health care employees will prevent hospitals from providing care for retiring baby boomers in the near future, an American Hospital Association survey released yesterday revealed that the hospitals have already begun “grappling with severe shortages.”
Sonoma County Voters Approve Initiative to Fund Palm Drive ED
Voters in rural west Sonoma County yesterday approved a ballot initiative that will keep the Sebastopol-based Palm Drive Hospital’s emergency department open, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Federal Jury Awards Empire BlueCross BlueShield $17.8M for Tobacco-Related Health Costs
A federal District Court jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., yesterday awarded $17.8 million in damages to Empire BlueCross BlueShield of New York, the state’s largest health insurer, as compensation for smoking-related health costs, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Kennedy Seeks Quick Action on His Patients’ Rights Proposal
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the incoming chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, intends to move his patients’ rights proposal “immediately” after the Senate completes its work on President Bush’s education package, the Washington Times reports.
State’s Small Businesses Hit With Largest Insurance Premium Hikes
Health insurance premiums for small businesses in California rose higher than did premiums for any other business sector, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
MedUnite Acquires NDCHealth’s Network Services
MedUnite, a seven-insurer, San Diego-based consortium designed to address “physician complaints about administrative hassles” in the insurance industry, has agreed to acquire the physician-network services of NDCHealth to bolster insurers’ ties with doctors, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Medi-Cal Reimbursement Rates for Physicians Need to Increase, San Jose Mercury News Says
The Medi-Cal rate-setting system for physician reimbursement is “just plain irrational,” a San Jose Mercury News editorial says, adding that the rates are “so low that a doctor loses money just by seeing a patient.”