Dive Briefs:
- A new study performed by researchers from Penn State Altoona concludes that health clinics offering primary care for low income patients save money for both payers and providers.
- The clinics can help save money by reducing visits to the ED, according to the study, which demonstrated more than $201,000 in annual savings over three years, courtesy of fewer ED visits and hospital admissions.
- Though the health clinic treated an equal average number of chronically ill patients to other fee-based clinics in the area, it had lower hospital admission rates, and patients had better overall health.
Dive Insight:
This study underscores the results of many others reaching a similar conclusion: that when low income patients, especially the chronically ill, have access to primary care on a regular basis, they are far less likely to be hospitalized or seen in the ED. "Since the patient has a place to go and can have treatments tailored to their chronic illnesses, they tend to go more often and that can lead to better health outcomes," researcher Mark Agee, professor of economics at Penn State Altoona, said in the research announcement, according to Fierce Health Payer.