|
|
California Healthline is a free news digest reporting on health care policy and politics.
|
-
Editorials: Improve Program That Provides OTC Syringes
California should build off of a current program that allows pharmacies to sell over-the-counter needles without a prescription, according to Los Angeles Times and Oakland Tribune editorials. Two bills in the Legislature -- AB 1701, by Assembly member Wesley Chesbro, and SB 1029, by Sen. Leland Yee, -- would extend or alter the program, which will expire at the end of this year. "What's needed is a hybrid of the two bills," the Tribune editorial states. Los Angeles Times, Oakland Tribune.
-
Welcome Back, Now Get to Work
Think the wheels of Sacramento politics move slowly? Think again.
On Monday, when the California Legislature returns from its summer recess, the Senate Committee on Appropriations plans to conduct a session that is expected to last 12 hours -- and possibly longer -- when it takes up and either approves or denies 203 new laws.
If you do the math, that's just 3 minutes and 31 seconds for each bill -- to introduce, argue both sides, have questions answered and vote on each piece of legislation. 
-
Mental Illness Group Seeks Revision of Sacramento Plan
Sacramento County's chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is requesting that county officials withdraw a proposal to overhaul outpatient mental health services and replace it with a plan containing more community input. Last week, a federal judge halted the county's initial proposal because of concerns over whether patients would continue to receive adequate care. The county's plan would have transferred 5,000 mental health patients from regional support centers to county-operated centers. Sacramento Business Journal.
-
Quality Index Points Out Where California Lags
California provides poor quality health care in several categories such as respiratory care and immunization rates, according to a just-released national evaluation, which compares health quality markers from state to state.
California had high scores in home health care and maternal care. Overall, the state rating was smack in the middle of the average range.
"We are mandated to do national reports on health care quality," spokesperson Karen Migdail of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) said. "Given the local nature of health care, states wanted to know what's particular for their area. This provides a good snapshot of health care quality in a particular state." 
-
Survey: One out of Five Californians Report Need for Mental Health Help
UCLA researchers found that one in five Californians said they could use assistance with an emotional or mental health issue. However, only about one in three of those who said they could use help actually visited a professional for treatment. Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" et al.
|
