The majority of ER patients leave confused and with unanswered questions, which can contribute to medication errors and return visits, the New York Times reports. And the study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine was among English speakers! Imagine the confusion among those with limited or no English.

Illinois is debating its certificate of need laws, following a decision by the US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission that it hampers competition and weakens the market’s ability to contain costs, the Chicago Tribune reports. The Illinois Hospital Association president defended the law: "The state has a legitimate interest … in preventing the proliferation
of profit-seeking enterprises that seek to cherry-pick well-paying
patients or those who have good insurance coverage, leaving
full-service community hospitals to provide vitally needed but
money-losing services, such as emergency and trauma care and care for
the uninsured, that are poorly reimbursed or not reimbursed at all."

Pennsylvania politics over medical malpractice insurance subsidies threaten the existence of the state agency that monitors hospital finances, occupancy, procedures and infection rates, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

Health Affairs has critiques of McCain and Obama’s health plans, along with a proposed comprimise by Wharton professor Mark Pauly.