Latest California Healthline Stories
N.H., Maine and Vermont Form Joint Rx Drug Buying Plan
The governors of New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont announced May 24 that the three states will band together to form a prescription drug purchasing pool, the AP/Manchester Union Leader reports.
Johns Hopkins Launches Program to Help Medical Societies Use Web Effectively
Johns Hopkins University, in collaboration with about a dozen medical societies, this week launched a project designed to help the societies use the Internet more effectively, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Court Upholds Decision to Bar Prenatal Care for Illegal Immigrants
Pregnant immigrant women illegally in the United States do not have the right to Medicaid-provided prenatal care, although their U.S.-born children are automatically entitled to Medicaid benefits for their first year, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled Tuesday.
AMA Formally Opposes Frist Patients’ Rights Proposal
The American Medical Association yesterday stated its “formal” opposition to a patients’ rights bill of rights sponsored by Sens. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), John Breaux (D-La.), and James Jeffords (I-Vt.) saying it “does not go far enough” to protect patients, CongressDaily/AM reports.
Nursing Home Staffing Bill Draws Support and Criticism
Senior groups, nursing home workers and nursing facility operators are squaring off on a new bill (AB 1075) that would impose “strict” staffing levels at nursing homes, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Hospitals Officials Say Mandatory Overtime for Nurses Not Ideal, but Necessary
California is one of 15 states considering legislation to ban mandatory overtime for nurses, but state hospital administrators say that the current nursing shortage “makes mandatory overtime a public-health necessity,” the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Cochran Lawsuit Alleges Companies Targeted Kids
Attorney Johnnie Cochran yesterday filed a lawsuit against five cigarette makers, alleging that the companies violated federal racketeering laws by “conspiring to entice children to smoke,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
AFL-CIO Group Releases Study of Drug Prices
Kicking off its campaign to push for a Medicare prescription drug benefit, a newly formed AFL-CIO-backed group released a study yesterday stating that pharmaceutical companies last year earned after-tax median profits of 18.6%, “compared to 4.9% for all other Fortune 500 companies,” CongressDaily reports.
Jeffords Party Switch May Influence Health Legislation
As expected, Sen. James Jeffords (Vt.) announced this morning that he will leave the Republican party and serve as an Independent, giving Democrats control of the Senate for the first time since 1994, the Washington Post reports.
Senate Committee Approves Measure to Allow Sale of Emergency Contraception Without Prescription
The state Senate Health and Human Services Committee has approved a bill that would allow women to obtain emergency contraception over the counter, the Los Angeles Times reports.