Medicaid Expansion Drops ER Visits

A new study by UCLA researchers suggests that the overflow of patients into hospital emergency rooms as the result of Medicaid expansion quickly levels off after the new enrollees become acclimated to receiving steady access to healthcare.

The study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research followed 182,000 low-income Californians who had been previously uninsured until 2011, when the state began ramping up Medi-Cal enrollments under the Affordable Care Act. That group began their coverage using hospital ERs at a rate of 600 visits per 1,000 people, an unusually high level.

However, within the first quarter of their enrollment in regular insurance, the rate declined to 424 visits per 1,000. Over a two-year period, the group’s ER access dropped nearly 70%.

“California’s success should set an example for states that are on the fence about expanding Medicaid,” said Gerald Kominski, co-author of the study and a UCLA professor. of health policy and management and director of the Center for Health Policy Research. “It’s an investment: Build more infrastructure and care delivery early on, and you can manage chronic care, address unmet health care needs, and keep cost increases to a manageable level.”