Uninsured patients aren’t overusing the ER
In a Health Affairs study from Harvard University, University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, researchers challenged the conventional thinking that uninsured patients are driving up healthcare costs for other populations by going to the emergency room whenever they need medical care.
The study found 12.2 percent of the uninsured made a visit in the ER in 2013. That was higher than the privately insured (11.1 percent made a ER visit that same year), but much lower than those on Medicaid, 29.3 percent of which visited an ER in 2013.
Outpatient care, the study authors found, may be the real problem: 41.8 percent of the uninsured made a visit to a setting like a primary care physician in 2013—far less than the privately insured (76.7 percent) or those on Medicaid (74.5 percent).
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.