Latest California Healthline Stories
California ‘Leads the Nation’ in Nursing Shortages
With an average of 500 RNs per 100,000 people, California ranks “dead last” in the nation in the number of registered nurses, according to a recent study by the California Healthcare Association and the Board of Registered Nurses, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
St. John’s Nurses set Dec. 14 Strike Date
Registered nurses at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John’s Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo yesterday threatened to strike on Dec. 14 if hospital administrators do not agree to “union-proposed” salary and staffing increases, the Ventura County Star reports.
Supreme Court To Decide if Insurers Can Recover Expenses
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs employee benefit programs, allows insurers to sue a customer for reimbursement of medical expenses after that customer has received money through a lawsuit or settlement, the New York Times reports.
Supreme Court Will Hear Medical Marijuana Case
The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to decide whether groups may provide marijuana to seriously ill patients on the grounds of “medical necessity,” despite federal laws that ban distribution of the drug, the New York Times reports.
Humana Health Plans of Texas and PacifiCare of Texas reached an out-of-court settlement with the Texas Medical Association in a lawsuit that charged the two HMOs with violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by “denying access to treatment” for people with chronic illnesses, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Water Pollutant Study Raises Eyebrows
A San Bernadino, Calif.-based water safety study that pays volunteers $1,000 each to take pills containing perchlorate, an industrial pollutant found in rocket fuel and often in drinking water, is raising many ethical concerns, the AP/Boston Globe reports.
Medicaid Family Planning Program ‘Successful’
California’s vanguard Medicaid-funded family planning program has successfully expanded access to care and services for “large numbers” of state residents, according to a report in the October 2000 issue of the Guttmacher Report on Public Policy.
Clinic to Study Immigrants’ Barriers to Health Care
A National City clinic that treats primarily indigent and illegal immigrants has received a grant that it will use to study ways to get immigrant families to access health care, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Sharon Davis Launches Child Immunization Campaign
Hoping to reach the goal of having 90% of all California newborns immunized by age two, Gov. Gray Davis (D) and first lady Sharon Davis launched an awareness campaign on Nov. 21 urging parents to immunize their children.
Santa Paula Hospital Adapts to Stop Financial Losses
Financially ailing Santa Paula Memorial Hospital has announced a plan to stop its mounting operating losses, the Los Angeles Times reports.