Change in Insurance Status Increases Emergency Department Visits

Change in insurance status, as opposed to actual insurance status, is associated with a more than 30% rise in ED use.

The common wisdom that lack of insurance increases emergency department (ED) use has been repeatedly debunked. For example, ED visit rates in Canada, where universal insurance prevails, are nearly identical to those in the U.S. In Massachusetts, the introduction of mandated insurance hardly affected ED visits.

Noting turmoil in the provision of health insurance brought on by the economic recession and by pending implementation of the Affordable Care Act, investigators examined the effect of recent loss or gain of insurance on ED use. They reviewed data for 160,000 adults who responded to the CDC National Health Interview Survey from 2004 through 2009.

Overall, 83% of respondents had insurance (5% of them were newly insured) and 17% did not ha…

Reviewing Author

J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACP, FACEP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesKlint Law Firm

Editorial boardsCritical Decisions in Emergency Medicine

J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACP, FACEP

Disclosures

RoyaltiesKlint Law Firm

Editorial boardsCritical Decisions in Emergency Medicine