Latest California Healthline Stories
HHS Expands Medicaid Health Coverage Under New Rules
HHS published new rules in the Federal Register Monday that could allow “tens of thousands” of low-income Americans to enroll in Medicaid who are above the Medicaid eligibility income level and pay high medical bills.
Harris Poll Finds HMO Hostility Not From Personal Experience
The recent “sharp increase in public hostility” toward the health insurance and managed care industries is “not based on the personal experiences of health plan members,” according to a recent Harris Poll.
Teens’ Health Needs Will Increase with Growing Population
California is “not prepared to meet the health needs of its exploding teenage population,” according to a University of California-San Francisco and California Adolescent Health Collaborative study released yesterday.
FTC Cracks Down on Online Vitamin, Supplement Marketers
While the Internet has facilitated the marketing of “questionable” dietary supplements and vitamins, the FTC has stepped up efforts to track down the companies that market and sell such products, the New York Times reports.
Pediatrics Offers Studies on Overweight Children
Overweight children are three to five times as likely as normal weight children to have a “bloodstream inflammation that in adults is linked to heart disease,” according to a study in this month’s Pediatrics.
Doctors Using Hand-Held Devices
Thousands of physicians are using hand-held computers for reference, writing prescriptions and tracking billing data, and in the future such devices are expected to reduce paperwork and expensive delays in approvals and payments, the New York Times reports.
Davis Pledges Healthy Families Expansion in State of the State Speech
Gov. Gray Davis (D) delivered his third State of the State address last night, calling for the expansion of Healthy Families to cover parents of enrolled children, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Supreme Court to Hear Challenge of Mass. Tobacco Ad Law
The Supreme Court yesterday agreed to hear an appeal from the tobacco industry challenging a Massachusetts law that places several restrictions on the advertising and sale of tobacco products, the New York Times reports.
Reforming Mental Health System Benefits All, Times Writes
Reform of the state’s mental health system should be based on the premise that successfully treating people with mental illness improves the “economic and civic health of downtown areas,” a Los Angeles Times editorial writes.
HIPAA Privacy and Internet Standards to Cost Millions
Health care organizations have begun conforming to Internet privacy and standardization rules established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which will cost the industry billions of dollars, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reports.