Wash. hospital allows patients to calculate out-of-pocket costs; San Francisco hospitals ill-prepared for earthquakes;

News From Around The Web

> Evergreen Hospital in Washington State has introduced new software that allows patients to calculate their bill and share of cost prior to undergoing a procedure, according to the Kirkland ReporterArticle

> Many hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area are not structurally prepared should a major earthquake strike the region, NBC reported. Article

Provider News

> Despite repeated calls for improvement in end-of-life care and planning, pain and suffering has actually increased for dying patients, and significant barriers still stand in the way of effective discussions about patients' care options, according to recent research. Article

Health IT News

> Personal information for roughly 80 million individuals was compromised after hackers broke into a database for Anthem Inc., the nation's second-largest health insurance company. Article

Health Insurance News

> A handful of states have passed laws that allow insurers to sell plans across their borders--but so far no insurers have signed on. So what's holding payers back? Article

And Finally... Legislation introduced in Texas would allow hospital visitors to bring concealed weapons onto the premises. Article