Latest California Healthline Stories
Repetitive-Stress Injuries Down in 1999
A week after President Bush signed a repeal of a Clinton administration ergonomics rule designed to reduce work-related repetitive-stress injuries, the Labor Department reports that 1.7 million employees suffering injuries at private businesses required leave in 1999, down from 1.73 million in 1998.
Companies Renew Efforts to Help Employees With Elder Care
After a “decade of trying, but largely failing,” to help employees who care for elderly relatives, some companies have made “another push” with new, “ambitious” benefits programs, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Court Skeptical of Marijuana’s Medical Necessity
Several Supreme Court justices appeared “unconvinced” yesterday that the “medical necessity” of “seriously ill patients” wanting to use marijuana for medicinal purposes is a valid defense against federal drug laws, USA Today reports.
State Senator Proposes Bills Targeting the Uninsured Adults
Although the state’s budget surplus is “shrinking” due to the electricity crisis, state Sen. Deborah Ortiz (D-Sacramento) said it would be “irresponsible” to neglect health care as she introduced a package of bills yesterday aimed at providing health coverage for half of California’s uninsured, the Sacramento Bee reports.
Medi-Cal Will Reimburse Two HIV Drug Resistance Tests
Medi-Cal has approved reimbursement for two HIV drug resistance tests. Under the plan, Medi-Cal will reimburse ViroLogic Inc.’s PhenoSense HIV and GeneSeq HIV drug resistance tests for up to four tests per year per patient for the 27,000 HIV-positive Californians enrolled in the program.
Pfizer to Enter Joint Venture with Microsoft, IBM to Promote Health Technology
Attempting to move into the health technology fray, pharmaceutical company Pfizer Inc. is expected to announce today its plans to form a joint venture with Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp. to sell software and services to physicians, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Lawmakers Say They Will Introduce Restrictions on Cloning
After a hearing yesterday on human cloning, Rep. Brian Kerns (R-Ind.) introduced the first of what may become a “raft” of bills directed at banning or restricting the practice, the Washington Post reports.
House Passes Bush Budget ‘Blueprint’ Amid Dem Opposition
Republicans “pushed” a $1.94 trillion budget resolution for FY 2002 through the House of Representatives yesterday, moving President Bush’s “blueprint” for tax cuts and “curtailed” spending over the “first major congressional hurdle,” while Democrats complained that the plan would “do nothing to buttress” Medicare, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Report Finds Many Hospitals Need Extensive Seismic Retrofitting
Nearly four out of 10 California acute care hospital buildings “pose a significant risk of collapse and danger to the public after a strong earthquake,” according to a new report from the Statewide Office of Health Planning and Development.
UC-Davis Transplant Research Institute to Receive $1.3 Million
The University of California-Davis has been promised $1.3 million in private donations for its Transplant Research Institute, the Sacramento Bee reports.