Latest California Healthline Stories
Supreme Court Rules that Disabled Golfer Can Use Cart
The Supreme Court yesterday ruled 7-2 that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires the Professional Golf Association Tour to allow disabled golfer Casey Martin to use a golf cart to move between holes, finding that the cart is a “reasonable modification” and would not “fundamentally alter” the sport, USA Today reports.
Senate Approves Bill Stopping Health Plans from Forcing Arbitration
The state Senate yesterday approved a bill (SB 458) by Sen. Martha Escutia (D-Montebello) that would prevent managed care companies from “forcing patients [with complaints] into arbitration as a condition of enrollment” in a health plan, the Sacramento Bee reports.
DMHC Expands Regulatory Role to Include Medical Groups
Prompted by “repeated failures” of the state’s independent practice associations, the Department of Managed Health Care is taking its “first tentative steps” to regulate the medical groups, the Ventura County Star reports.
HHS Grants Medicare+Choice HMOs Deadline Extension
The Bush administration announced plans Tuesday to allow managed care plans 10 additional weeks to notify the government whether they will withdraw from Medicare+Choice next year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
WSJ Looks at HIV/AIDS in African-Americans
The Wall Street Journal today looks at the increase in HIV infections among African Americans, noting that policy makers, AIDS activists and “even drug companies” are examining why prevention measures that have been successful with other populations “don’t seem to be resonating with blacks.” African Americans, who make up only 12% of the U.S. population, now account for more than half of new HIV infections.
Union Officials Threaten to Strike at 60 Nursing Homes Statewide
Officials of the Service Employees International Union, which represents more than 3,500 nursing home employees in Northern California, said they are prepared to call for strikes at 60 nursing homes statewide if staffing and pay issues are not resolved, the Contra Costa Times reports.
Kaiser Permanente Software Pilot to Collect Detailed Patient Histories
Kaiser Permanente plans to begin testing a new software program tomorrow that will gather detailed patient medical histories to determine genetic risk of heart disease, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
FDA Officials Consider Reintroducing Lotronex
According to government documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times, the FDA intends to bring the irritable bowel syndrome drug Lotronex back to the market, despite evidence that the risk of developing ischemic cholitis, a potentially lethal complication, is higher than previously thought.
Many VA Hospitals Do Not Give HIV Counseling to Veterans
Many U.S. veterans do not receive counseling before and after being tested for HIV at Veterans Affairs hospitals, even though federally funded hospitals are required to do so, a study presented at a recent meeting of the American Society for Microbiology concluded.
TAP Pharmaceuticals to Pay Record Fine Over Drug Pricing
TAP Pharmaceutical Products will likely pay a fine of more than $840 million to settle federal allegations that it inflated the price of its “top-selling” prostate cancer drug Lupron Depot, the Boston Globe reports.