gt california news from FierceHealthcare
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ALSO NOTED: Plavix copycat on the rise in Europe; Hospital bills for services to dead patient; and much more...
> Pharma giants Sanofi-Aventis and Bristol-Myers Squibb are preparing to battle a copycat generic to its Plavix brand. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: MN law bars hospitals from reviewing patient debt before services; Congress may regulate direct-to-consumer drug ad
> Minnesota lawmakers have passed a bill blocking hospitals from examining a patient's medical debt history before offering services. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: DC prescription data mining ban faces challenges; View from a Maryland Blue plan; and much more...
> As elsewhere in the country, D.C. has instituted rules limiting data mining for physician prescribing patterns--but will they stand? Read more...
ALSO NOTED: CMS "secret shoppers" attend Medicare health plan pitches; CA health plans adding interpreters; and much more...
> CMS "secret shoppers" have begun attending insurance agents' sales pitches for Medicare managed care plans to see how they work. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Calif. hospitals can delay costly earthquake upgrades; IT can give nurses more patient care time; and much more...
> California has approved a new, less-stringent method of assessing hospital earthquake risk which spares many hospitals from making expensive retrofits. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Calif. facilities nervously await Medi-Cal money; Hospital fires NC Blue plan; and much more...
> California hospitals, clinics and nursing homes are facing big problems because the state hasn't approved its budget, delaying their Medi-Cal payments indefinitely. Read more...
ALSO NOTED: Calif. increases nursing school slots; Joint Commission launches rights campaign; and much more...
> California is taking steps to open more slots in nursing schools. Prospective nurses currently face long waiting lists to get into such programs. Article
> The Joint Commission has launched a campaign designed to teach patients what their rights are when receiving medical care. Release
> Dallas-based …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: WI hospitals face low profits; CA HMOs offer high-deductible plans; and much more...
> A new survey suggests that when taken as a whole--rather than hospital by hospital--Wisconsin health systems aren't that profitable. Article
> California's HMOs have begun offering CDHPs, which have mostly been a PPO product in the past. Article
> …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: State gives San Francisco $73M for reform plans; $12M for state trauma centers; and much more...
> California is giving the city of San Francisco $73 million to implement its new universal health coverage program. Article
> Emergency medical services got a bit of a boost this week, with the passage of a House bill allocating $12 million for state trauma care. …
... Read more...ALSO NOTED: The debate over the future of SCHIP continues; CA lists worst hospitals for pneumonia care; and much more...
> At Hospital Impact, blogger Tony Chen has a great interview with U.S. Preventative Medicine President Brian Baum. Baum discusses what makes his company unique, the public's response to the company's advertising campaign and the future of preventative medicine in the United States. Interview
> The debate over the future of SCHIP continues. …
... Read more...