California Healthline: Study Shows Decline in Emergency Services Use Among Newly Insured
by David Gorn The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research yesterday released a study that lends credence to one of the primary contentions of health care reform — providing health care coverage can reduce expensive emergency department use. “Once you provide coverage to a population and provide preventive services, particularly for chronic conditions, you can expect a decline in … Continue reading
LA Times: Expanding Medicaid increases ER visits in Oregon study
Emergency room patients wait to be seen. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times / June 28, 2012) By Monte Morin An Oregon Medicaid expansion program found that low-income adults who were covered by government health insurance had visited hospital emergency rooms 40% more often than other adults. The study, published online Thursday … Continue reading
MedPageToday: ED Use Could Surge Under ACA, Study Suggests
By Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer, MedPage Today Increases in California emergency department (ED) use were driven in large part by Medicaid patients, presaging increased burdens after the Affordable Care Act kicks in completely, researchers found. From 2005 to 2010, the number of visits to California emergency departments rose by 13.2% from 5.4 million to 6.1 million … Continue reading
