Dive Brief:
- A new study suggests that emergency rooms will see a small but significant increase in visits as the uninsured obtain insurance under health reform.
- The study, which looked at behavior in Massachusetts after reform was instituted there, examined data from 13 million emergency department visits in Massachusetts between 2004 and September 2009 at 69 acute-care hospitals.
- Researchers found that from fall 2006 to fall 2007, ED visits increased by 1.2%, and then 2.2% between 2007 and September 2009, according to the study, which was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Dive Insight:
Why do so many insured patients go to the ED when, arguably, they don't belong there? The researchers pointed out a few good reasons, including 24-hour availability, perceived efficiency and technology expertise found there. They also noted that when more people have insurance under reform, the primary care system gets overloaded and patients go to the ED rather than endure long stretches before getting an appointment. All of which brings us back to the question troubling policy makers, which is how to divert the less-sick to appropriate outpatient settings. The bottom line seems to be that we need to make outpatient settings more attractive, because mechanisms intended to lower ED traffic don't seem to be working.