Latest California Healthline Stories
Democrats to Question Use of Tax Cut in Medicare Trust Fund
Democratic congressional leaders, backed by a report from Families USA, will hold a news conference tomorrow to “attack” President Bush’s tax cut proposal, arguing that the plan would shorten the solvency of Medicare, the Washington Post reports.
Kaiser Permanente Project Guarantees Nurses 40-Hour Work Week
To guarantee that its nurses work 40 hours per week, Kaiser Permanente has launched a one-year pilot program that will stop the practice of canceling shifts when patient volume is low, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.
FDA ‘Collaborated’ with Warner-Lambert on Rezulin, the LA Times Reports
Newly-obtained memos and emails reveal that senior FDA officials “quietly collaborated” with drug company Warner-Lambert in securing approval for the “now-discredited” diabetes drug Rezulin, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Bill Would Mandate Cancer Test Coverage for Clinical Trials
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-Ohio) last week introduced the Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act, which would require all private health insurance plans to cover the “routine patient costs” of those who qualify for participation in cancer clinical trials.
Lawmakers Should Discourage Junk Food in Schools, Times Says
While lawmakers “can’t reverse children’s addiction to junk foods,” they should “take modest steps to discourage it,” specifically in schools, a Los Angeles Times editorial states.
Enrollment for Santa Clara County’s Children’s Health Initiative Exceeds Projections
More than 5,000 children have enrolled in the Santa Clara County Children’s Health Initiative over the last two months, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Accelerated Health Spending Increases Predicted for 2000
While health care spending slowed in the 1990s, growth rates will likely “accelerate” in the next few years, fueled largely by prescription drug spending, although they will not “approach the double-digit rates” of the 1980s and early 1990s, according to an annual HCFA study published in the March/April issue of Health Affairs.
Organ Transplant Waiting List Hits 75,000
The United Network for Organ Sharing announced Friday that the waiting list for organ transplants now exceeds 75,000, “a benchmark that officials marked with a plea for donations,” the AP/Contra Costa Times reports.
Panel Advises Against New Medicare Increases for Hospitals
Because profit margins for hospitals across the country “improved substantially” last year, a new Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report is recommending that Congress should not increase Medicare payments to hospitals this year, the New York Times reports.
‘Overwhelmed’ Community Clinics Forced to Deny or Delay Chronic Care
A lack of funding has caused several Southern California community health clinics to deny care to chronically ill uninsured patients, place them on waiting lists or charge “significant fees” for service, the Los Angeles Times reports.