When states expand Medicaid coverage to previously uninsured populations, as Connecticut did in 2010, the fiscal implications may be difficult to predict. One big question: would Medicaid expansion increase costly emergency room visits over the long term or would those visits decrease over time as Medicaid recipients gained access to primary care providers?
Two studies, described in this Kaiser Health News story, provide two different answers. One study, recently released by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, used data from California Medicaid recipients, and found that, among those with the highest pent-up demand, ER visits did increase in the first year, but then dropped in the second year. In contrast, the other study, the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, which was done in 2008, found that Medicaid coverage resulted in a 40% increase in ER visits in the 18 months after expansion, with no evidence of ER use declining over that period.
For information on ER use and its impact on Connecticut’s Medicaid budget, see the Office of Program Review and Investigations 2013 study on this topic.
