News From Around The Web
> Medicaid expansion may have reached a stalemate in Virginia, where the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a budget that includes funds to expand eligibility. However, the Republican-controlled House said it would reject the bill, and it could lead to a government shutdown, the Associated Press reported. Article
> State-run price transparency websites can be a potential boon for patients, but many of them are not functioning the way they should and the public should look at those that are not mandated by law with some skepticism, according to a recent blog post in Health Affairs. Article
> The Pennsylvania House passed a bill that would require hospitals to notify patients if they're being held for observation rather than admitted, PennLive reported. Article
Provider News
> Expanding Medicaid eligibility neither reduced care access nor increased emergency department use, according to a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers found that, in 10 states that expanded Medicaid between 2000 and 2009, enrollee reports of poor care access fell from 8.5 percent to 7.3 percent. In states that did not expand access, reports of poor access remained the steady during the same timeframe. Article
Healthcare IT News
> The use of geographic information systems technology holds the potential to help hospitals and other healthcare providers make more accurate care transportation decisions--and thus improve care quality and save money--according to new research out of the University of Cincinnati. Article
And finally...NY nursing home under fire for hiring strippers for patients. Article