Alaska Chamber of Commerce pushes for Medicaid expansion; NM Medicaid may back off fraud allegations;

News From Around the Web

> The Alaska Chamber of Commerce endorsed the expansion of Medicaid, counter to much of the state's political establishment, although Gov. Sean Parnell has recently indicated he may be open to considering an expansion, the Alaska Dispatch reports. Article

> New Mexico's Medicaid department cut off funding to more than a dozen mental health providers after an auditing contractor made allegations of fraud. However, state officials appear to be backing off allegations of widespread fraud,  according to Santa Fe New Mexican. Article

> North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory has insisted an arcane rule about hospital presumptions regarding uninsured patients would force his state to expand the Medicaid program, a contention that a variety of provider organization rebuffs, the Charlotte Observer reports. Article

Provider News

> A lawsuit filed last week accuses two Washington state hospitals of violating state law by neglecting charity care, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. The lawsuit alleges that 63-bed Toppenish Community Hospital and 214-bed Yakima Regional Medical and Cardiac Center discouraged patients from seeking charity care and shifted the burden to other hospitals in the area. Article

Healthcare IT News

> CHIME and the American Hospital Association are among groups challenging sections of a proposed rule governing mandatory disclosures to patients about the use of data from their health records, Healthcare IT News reported. A privacy and security "tiger team" convened by the Office of the National Coordinator's Health IT Policy Committee is developing recommendations on the rule, which relates to compliance of the HITECH Act, the article noted. Article

And finally ... Aspirin won't cure this sinus headache. Article