Healthcare: Medicaid Patients Aren't Using the Emergency Department for Routine Care

Policymakers frequently point to Medicaid patients high use of the emergency room for routine care as one factor driving up health-care costs.

There's just one problem with that claim: A new study finds it's not true.

The majority of Medicaid visits to the emergency room are for urgent or serious issues, according to research published Wednesday by the Center for Studying Health System Change.

Both those covered by Medicaid and those on private insurance use the emergency department at the same rate for both emergency and non-urgent care.

For more, see Study: Medicaid Patients Aren't Using the Emergency Department for Routine Care by Sarah Kliff, July 11, 2012 at Wonkblog.