UCSF study finds big jump in ER visits

[alp227]

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

(08-10) 18:09 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- Emergency room visits to U.S. hospitals increased more than 23 percent from 1997 to 2007 - double what researchers expected the rise would be based on population growth, according to a UCSF study to be released Wednesday.

Total annual visits to the country's emergency departments rose from 94.9 million in 1997 to an estimated 116.8 million over the next decade, the study found. Visit rates for adults on Medicaid accounted for the largest jump, while rates for adults with private insurance and those on Medicare showed no significant change.

Relatively low reimbursements to physicians who care for patients on Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor who meet certain criteria, were believed to be a key factor behind the increase.

"There are many physicians who refuse to accept new patients with Medicaid," said Dr. Ning Tang, assistant clinical professor at UCSF and lead author of the study. "This doubling in emergency department visits by adults with Medicaid suggests they might not have adequate access to outpatient care."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/10/BAR91EPE97.DTL

[lovuian]

1. so even the Medicaid patients have no doctors and soon

the Medicare patients will have no doctors

is this ridiculous system ever go to end

[postulater]

2. There are already co-pays higher than the contracted reduced fee for an office visit. nt

[BlueIris]

3. The only story on this page worth rec-ing. nt

[Lance_Boyle]

4. Are they using 'adults on Medicaid' as a euphemism for illegal aliens?

Because illegals and the burden they impose on the ER network are not discussed at all in the article. Guess that's to be expected from a "Sanctuary City" newspaper. :shrug: