Latest California Healthline Stories
Half of Eligible Children are Enrolled in Healthy Families
Only half of the state’s eligible children are enrolled in Healthy Families, and health advocates say the program’s “cumbersome enrollment process” is to blame, according to the Los Angeles Times.
FDA Advisory Panel Upholds Ulcer Warning Label for Celebrex
There is no proof that Pharmacia Corp.’s arthritis medication Celebrex is “gentler on the stomach” than older, less expensive painkillers, and the drug should retain its label warning users they may develop stomach ulcers, a panel of scientific advisers to the FDA concluded yesterday, the AP/Nando Times reports.
Valley Health System Board Member Calls for Break With Chaudhuri
Citing large financial losses, a board member of the Hemet-based Valley Health System said yesterday that the public hospital district should consider terminating its management contract with Kali Chaudhuri, the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Study Shows Farm Workers at High Risk for Chronic Disease
Risks for chronic disease are “startlingly high” for California’s farm workers, mostly “young men who would normally be in the peak of physical condition,” according to a report from the California Endowment released yesterday.
Pacificare Earnings Drop As Medicare Expenses Rise
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. announced an 82% drop in fourth quarter income, the Wall Street Journal reports. The company cited increased costs for both its commercial and Medicare health plans for the earnings drop.
Bush Outlines His Agenda for Patients’ Rights
In a letter to congressional leaders, President Bush yesterday outlined his own goals for a patients’ bill of rights, the Los Angeles Times reports.
FDA Finds Five Drug Makers Using Materials Possibly Linked to Mad Cow Disease
FDA regulators have discovered that five drug makers — GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis, American Home Products, Bioport and Baxter International — had been using ingredients from cows raised in countries where there is risk of mad cow disease, even though the agency had asked companies not to use such products, the New York Times reports.
Number of Physicians Declines in El Dorado and Sacramento Counties
The number of practicing physicians in Sacramento and El Dorado counties dropped 13.4% between 1995 and 2000, according to a new study by the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society, the Sacramento Business Journal reports.
Genome Data Will be Available Online
Celera Genomics Corp. and the journal Science yesterday released the terms of their agreement that will make Celera’s data set on the human genome map available through the company’s Web site, the Washington Post reports.
Social Security Investment Accounts Would Hurt Disabled
A new General Accounting Office study sent to Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) yesterday revealed that Americans with disabilities would lose income and benefits under proposals by President Bush and others to establish individual investment accounts within the Social Security program, the New York Times reports.