Will Your Vote Count?; Blue Cross Asking Doctors For Information On New Patients; Prescription Drug Abuse; Joan Rivers
Will Your Vote Count?
Many Nonpartisan voters in Los Angeles County who voted in last Tuesday's presidential primaries will not have their votes counted. According to acting Registrar Dean Logan, an estimated 49,500 votes cast by decline-to-state voters cannot be counted because their intentions are unclear. Nonpartisan voters were unaware of the need to fill in a bubble indicating whether they were voting in the Democratic Party or American Independent Party, and many declined to state, thus making their votes uncountable. While Logan maintains that the ballot system is too complicated for the lost votes to be recounted, voter advocates consider Logan's decision a disenfranchisement of L.A. voters, and urged him to reconsider. This hour, Larry talks to Rick Hasen, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, Rick Jacobs of the Courage Campaign, Eric Bauman, Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Larry will also take calls from listeners.
Blue Cross Asking Doctors For Information On New Patients
The L.A. Times has obtained a letter sent from Blue Cross to a physician that asked the Doctor to provide medical information about new patients seeking to be insured by Blue Cross. The letters are intended to find out if the patient has any undisclosed, pre-existing conditions which would be cause for cancellation of the policy. Larry talks with David Aizuss, M.D., Physician with the California Medical Association, and President of the L.A. County Medical Association about the issue.
Prescription Drug Abuse
Deaths from prescription drug overdoses are on the rise. In the wake of Heath Ledger's death, due to an overdose of prescription medications, Larry Mantle takes a look at the problem of prescription drug abuse. Larry talks with Greg Thompson, Pharm.D, associate professor at USC's School of Pharmacy, and Richard Rawson, PhD, Professor of Psychiatry at the Semel Institute at UCLA, and Associate Director of the UCLA Integrated Substance Abuse Program.
Joan Rivers
Best known as a comedienne and red-carpet fashion laureate, Joan Rivers is also a Tony nominated actress; best-selling author; Emmy Award-winning talk-show host; writer, and businesswoman. Her new play, "Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress," opens Wednesday at the Geffen Playhouse in Westwood. She joins Larry to talk about the play and her long and varied career.