Latest California Healthline Stories
Public Disclosure Would Strengthen HMO Arbitration Credibility, Los Angeles Times Says
Although California’s Supreme Court ruled last month that medical records involved in lawsuits should be disclosed if doing so would benefit public health, a Los Angeles Times editorial says that the “sensible rule” does not “formally apply” to 18 million managed care enrollees “whose health plans require them to settle their disputes through private arbitration rather than public lawsuits.”
DMHC Fines PacifiCare Over Late Payments
The Department of Managed Health Care announced yesterday that it will fine PacifiCare of California for making late payments to providers, the Orange County Register reports.
FDA Considers Placebo Tests on Latin American Infants
The FDA is considering a Discovery Laboratories Inc. proposal to conduct a drug experiment — regarded as “unethical” in the United States — that would “leave hundreds of sick, premature infants in Latin America without proven lifesaving medications,” the Washington Post reports.
Superior Court Upholds Constitutionality of Measure H
Reaffirming a preliminary ruling made last week, Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Jane Myers yesterday upheld the constitutionality of Measure H, the voter-approved Orange COunty ballot initiative that requires the county to spend the majority of its share of the tobacco settlement on health care, the Orange County Register reports.
Annual Report on Assisted Suicide in Oregon Released
The number of terminally ill patients in Oregon opting for physician-assisted suicide in 2000 “remained small,” according to the third annual report on the state’s physician-assisted suicide law, which was enacted in 1997.
Philip Morris Would Support FDA Regulatory Power
Responding to a presidential commission’s report recommending that Congress give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products, Philip Morris Inc. has proposed a plan of its own that supports government tobacco regulation, rewritten warning labels and additional disclosure of ingredients, the AP/Las Vegas Sun reports.
Lawmakers Offers Bill to Provide Funds to Train More Nurses
Hoping to ease a nursing shortage, Assembly member Lou Correa (D-Anaheim) introduced a bill (AB 338) yesterday that would increase the number of available slots for nursing students at Orange County community colleges and California State University-Fullerton, the Orange County Register reports.
Bush To Keep HIV/AIDS Intellectual Property Policy
The Bush administration indicated Monday that it will uphold an executive order issued last year by President Clinton that excludes sub-Saharan African countries from U.S. trade and patent laws concerning HIV/AIDS pharmaceuticals and medical technologies, the Los Angeles Times/Contra Costa Times reports.
Supreme Court Rules State Employees Cannot Sue ADA
Limiting the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Supreme Court yesterday ruled that state employees who claim they suffered job discrimination because of a disability cannot sue their employer for damages in federal court, the Washington Post reports.
Lower Asthma Incidence Linked to Reduction in Traffic
Efforts to reduce traffic congestion in Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games may be associated with a reduction in area asthma-related emergency room visits during that same period, according to a new study by the CDC.