Will Healthcare Reform Cause a Surge in Emergency Department Visits?

After Massachusetts enacted universal coverage, annual ED visits increased by only 2%.

Federal healthcare reform is projected to provide health insurance to 30 million additional people nationwide. Massachusetts enacted universal coverage in 2006. To determine whether emergency department (ED) use changed after reform in the state, investigators studied 13.3 million ED visits during 2004 to 2009, using complex mathematical models to isolate the effect of healthcare reform.

Depending on the model used, an increase in annual ED visits between 0.2% and 2.2% was attributable to the reform.

Reviewing Author

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Grant/Research SupportAgency for Healthcare Research and Quality; CDC; NIH–National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences; NIH–National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIH–NIAID–Antibacterial Resistance Leadership Group; Merck; Pfizer; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Shire; Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Novartis; bioMérieux; Siemens; Rapid Pathogen Screening; Magnolia; Stago; Innovative Biosensors; Molecular Detection, Inc.; Dyax Corp.; Trius Pharmaceuticals

Daniel J. Pallin, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardPortola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Speaker’s BureauPeerView Institute for Medical Education

Will Healthcare Reform Cause a Surge in Emergency Department Visits?

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Reviewing Author