Doctor and healthcare groups lobby to extend ACA's primary-care provision; Judge throws out Washington state hospital rules;

News From Around the Web

> Several physician associations and healthcare organizations have added their names to a letter to U.S. legislators requesting an extension of the Affordable Care Act's two-year provision that makes Medicaid and Medicare payments for primary care services equal. Letter (.pdf)

> A Superior Court judge threw out rules in Washington state that gave the state government broad control over new hospital mergers and affiliations, according to the Seattle Business Journal. Article

> Nurses and caregivers will hold "informational picket lines" at 100 facilities throughout New York City in protest of proposed benefit cuts, according to a statement from United Healthcare Workers East. Statement

Practice Management News

> With more low-to-modest income patients entering the healthcare system via the Affordable Care Act, practices may benefit from investing in social-support services to address problems that impede patients' ability to receive care, according to a report prepared by Manatt Health Solutions for The Commonwealth Fund, The Skoll Foundation and The Pershing Square Foundation. Article

> It's ironic, but a leading cause of patient complaints--long wait times--is often due to their own tardiness, according to a study published in BMJ Open. Article

And Finally… With great power… Article