Latest California Healthline Stories
Bush, Congress Agree on 4.9% Spending Boost
The White House and congressional negotiators agreed yesterday on a “non-binding” budget deal that would boost discretionary spending 4.9% next year, a figure “greater” than President Bush had proposed but less than “what most Democrats said was needed to pay for domestic programs,” including some health care initiatives, the New York Times reports.
Heart Disease Studies Examine Racial Response to Drugs
Today’s New England Journal of Medicine features two studies analyzing racial differences in patient response to specific ACE inhibitors and beta blockers.
Mission Community Hospital Lawsuit Sheds Light on Interpreter Law
Officials at Panorama City-based Mission Community Hospital say that a settlement reached in a lawsuit over a Spanish-speaking house painter who signed papers he did not fully understand that made him liable for his father’s medical bills could benefit other families of patients at the facility, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Health Care Providers Slowly Becoming Tech Savvy
Using technology to “make health care more efficient” — one of the “main reasons” Congress in 1996 passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which requires providers to shift their billing and medical records from paper to an electronic format — is “easier said than done,” the Boston Business Journal reports.
Lawmakers Seek Federal Funds to Help Hospitals Meet Seismic Retrofitting Standards
Federal lawmakers from California are introducing legislation that would establish a $1 billion “pool of grant money” to help fund California hospitals’ efforts to meet state seismic retrofitting standards, the Orange County Register reports.
MCO Executives Testify to Congress During Medicare+Choice Hearing
As part of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health’s series of hearings on Medicare+Choice, the panel heard testimony yesterday from representatives of Medicare managed care organizations and experts on the reimbursement and regulatory system created by HCFA.
Nursing Homes Ask to Be Exempt from Rolling Blackouts
The California Association of Health Facilities is asking the California Public Utilities Commission to exempt the state’s 1,300 skilled nursing homes from rolling blackouts this summer because many of their 140,000 residents rely on electrically powered medical devices, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Urban Institute Panel Debates Bush’s Tax Credit Plan for the Uninsured
Speakers at an Urban Institute briefing yesterday outlined the pros and cons of President Bush’s proposed tax credit for the uninsured and the National Governor’s Association plan to restructure Medicaid, CongressDaily/AM reports.
McCain, Schumer Offer Bill to Speed Process of Generic Drug Approval
Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday introduced a bill that “would make it harder for drug makers to hold on to brand-name patents” by closing loopholes in the Hatch-Waxman Act governing generic drugs, the AP/Baltimore Sun reports.
Health Net Reports 25% 1Q Profit Increase
Health Net Inc., a California-based managed care company, yesterday reported a 25% profit increase in the first quarter, saying it raised premiums “faster than medical costs have increased” and “has controlled other expenses,” Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times reports.