Government advisers on Thursday rejected Merck &Co.'s bid for over-the-counter sales of Mevacor, the granddaddy of the famed cholesterol-lowering drugs.
With the state facing a projected $14-billion shortfall, lawmakers say tax hikes, program cuts must be considered.Legislative leaders said Thursday that more taxes would be needed to fill a projected $14-billion budget gap next year, and the state Senate president said a healthcare overhaul -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's priority this year -- will have to wait.
A recent stalemate exposes the central issue of how far the government should go in helping families.When the year began, the expectation was that the new Democratic-led Congress and President Bush would make some headway on the problem many voters placed at the top of the nation's domestic agenda -- healthcare for the uninsured and rising medical costs that are squeezing the middle class.
A study indicates it could get easier to determine who would benefit from the harsh drugs and who can be spared the side effects.A genetic test can help doctors determine which breast cancer patients are likely to benefit from chemotherapy, even for those whose tumors are more advanced, researchers reported Thursday.
Plaintiffs are seeking the restoration of money, cut by Schwarzenegger, for a program that targeted the homeless.Advocates for the mentally ill filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger subverted the will of voters when he eliminated a $55-million program for the homeless mentally ill -- a program he himself had touted as a success.
Stores pull items from shelves after a state investigation and tests find they contain levels far above the legal limit.Stores across California have pulled lead-tainted children's jewelry from their shelves after state investigators found bracelets, rings and necklaces contaminated with as much as 600 times the legal limit of the poisonous element.
California's top insurance regulator has accused Blue Shield, one of the state's largest health plans, of 1,262 violations of claims-handling laws and regulations that resulted in more than 200 people losing their medical coverage.
Isabelle Dinoire of France received a new nose, chin and lips in 2005. Her improvement -- she can manage a slight smile -- may boost the prospects for future transplant patients.Eighteen months after receiving a new nose, chin and lips, the world's first face transplant recipient has recovered enough use of her facial muscles to close her lips and draw her face into a slight smile, doctors in France reported Wednesday.
