Medicaid Expansion in Oregon Led to More Short-Term ED Use

Visits to emergency departments by newly covered recipients rose during the first 18 months.

In 2008, Oregon expanded its Medicaid program to individuals with income below the federal poverty level and less than US$2000 in assets. Because funds were not available to cover all residents who qualified, a lottery was conducted to select 25,000 people to receive Medicaid coverage.

During the next 18 months, emergency department (ED) use among those who received Medicaid coverage was 40% greater than among those who did not. In subgroup analyses, the difference in use was statistically significant among people deemed to require immediate assessment in primary care (not ED) settings and among those who did not require immediate assessment at all. For subgroups with truly emergent conditions, the difference was marginally significant or no…

Reviewing Author

Anthony L. Komaroff, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardSerImmune Inc.; DxTerity

Grant / Research SupportNIH (1U54NS105542-01)

Editorial BoardsHarvard Health Letter; UpToDate

Anthony L. Komaroff, MD

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardSerImmune Inc.; DxTerity

Grant / Research SupportNIH (1U54NS105542-01)

Editorial BoardsHarvard Health Letter; UpToDate

Medicaid Expansion in Oregon Led to More Short-Term ED Use

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Reviewing Author