Articles

Bernie Sanders Tells Rage For Justice California Should Take Healthcare Reform Lead

Submitted by Evan Thomas King on Mon, 05/08/2017 - 12:34

United States Senator Bernie Sanders Saturday night called on California to take the lead in healthcare reform and pass a bill that would provide a single-payer healthcare system.

“The great state of California can send a message that will be heard all over this country, and all over the world if you pass single-payer here,” Sanders told an audience of 700 at Consumer Watchdog’s Rage For Justice at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.  The former presidential candidate is proposing Medicare for All, single-payer legislation at the federal level.

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CA Supreme Court Skeptical of Barring Medical Board from Utilizing Database Created to Combat Dangerous Doctors

Submitted by Mark Lowenthal on Wed, 05/03/2017 - 18:10


In a hearing before the California Supreme Court, Justices appeared unconvinced that the state Medical Board should be barred from consulting the state’s prescription drug database in order to discipline drug-dealing and over-prescribing doctors.
 
At issue is the unusual claim that doctors can assert their patients’ privacy rights in order to insulate themselves from disciplinary procedures which are designed to protect patients from substandard care.
 

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Any Collusion To Charge Ratepayers Billions For San Onofre Shutdown Is the Public’s Business

Submitted by Liza Tucker on Tue, 04/25/2017 - 11:53

This Thursday morning, the California Public Utilities Commission begins a day-long public hearing during which it will vote on a staff recommendation to withhold amd redact vital records on a $4.7 billion settlement that stuck ratepayers with most of the tab to shutter a defective nuclear power station called San Onofre. It may seem perfunctory. It's anything but. What is at stake is nothing less than government transparency so that Californians can judge whether government officials are doing their jobs by representing their interests.

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Bill Deadline in Sacramento Leaves Patients Hanging

Submitted by Carmen Balber on Mon, 04/24/2017 - 17:11

With bill deadlines this week, the news coming out of the legislature for patients is mixed.

The hearing for SB 572, that would have eliminated nearly every disciplinary action by the Medical Board for doctors, was postponed. Since this week is the last chance for bills to pass out of policy committees, this scary concept is toast for 2017 unless there’s an ill-advised gut-and-amend later this year.

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DMV Considering Flawed Robot Car Rules; Deployment Should Not be Allowed

Submitted by John Simpson on Mon, 04/24/2017 - 12:37

The current California regulations covering testing autonomous vehicles have set the standard for the nation by promoting innovation while protecting the safety of our highways.   Unfortunately, the Department of Motor Vehicles has proposed new rules covering testing of robot cars without steering wheels as well as the deployment of autonomous vehicles for public use.

The rules covering testing could be enacted with amendments, but the deployment rules are premature and should be withdrawn.

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