Emergency department crowding continues to occur in hospital emergency departments, and some patients wait longer than the recommended time frames, according to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

"California's high court ruled that emergency-room patients can no longer be billed by doctors and hospitals for care that isn't fully paid by their health plans. The court on Thursday struck down a practice known as 'balance billing,' in which doctors and hospitals seek to collect from patients any amounts that their managed-care plans refuse to pay.