Once People Have Health Insurance, They Will Seek Care…
At the emergency room!
New research in the Archives of Ophthalmology warns hospitals to prepare for an overload of emergency department (ED) visits after health reform kicks in. Florida hospital EDs already saw patients eligible for Medicaid jump 6 percent between 2005 and 2009, well before millions of Americans are expected to gain health insurance in 2014, reported The Tampa Tribune.
Meanwhile, approximately 68 percent of emergency physicians in Massachusetts saw an uptick in visits due to the state’s universal health plan, the model for national health reform, according to a 2009 survey, noted The News-Press.
Source: FierceHealthcare
Sad but true.
This makes no sense whatsoever! Isn’t ER care the most expensive there is? I thought health care costs were going to go down because there would be fewer in the emergency room for non-emergency care?
This could lead to in lawsuits. Some people will end up in the ER that don’t need emergency care and they will get treatment. Other people will end up in the ER that do need emergency care and they won’t get treatment because it will be too crowded and they will have to wait, which could have consequences.
For most care, you should not need insurance. Insurance is for an expensive health emergency that probably won’t happen. Most care should be paid for in cash up front, or over time, even something like heart surgery, since this is relatively common. The high price of healthcare is a market signal, that the industry must grow to meet demand. That means more doctors and med schools. Only then will we see any serious decrease in healthcare costs.
Humans have two chronic conditions that require constant treatment: hunger and thirst. Yet somehow we are able to treat these ailments efficiently, at lost cost, in a free market way.
I wonder if the boost in ER visits will be a gain or loss for hospitals? The privately-insured (and the uninsured) use the ER far less than those covered by Medicaid. Most of the new ER visits will be by Medicaid enrollees. Medicaid doesn’t pay nearly as well for medical treatment as private insurers. When states begin to get hit by a deluge of Medicaid ER visits they know are unnecessary, there will likely be a push to lower ER reimbursements.
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