Posted on 01/02/2014 12:28:53 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Supporters of President Obamas health care law had predicted that expanding insurance coverage for the poor would reduce costly emergency room visits as people sought care from primary care doctors. But a rigorous new study conducted in Oregon has flipped that assumption on its head, finding that the newly insured actually went to the emergency room more often.
The study, published in the journal Science, compared thousands of low-income people in the Portland area who were randomly selected in a 2008 lottery to get Medicaid coverage with people who entered the lottery but remained uninsured. Those who gained coverage made 40 percent more visits to the emergency room than their uninsured counterparts. The pattern was so strong that it held true across most demographic groups, times of day, and types of visits, including for conditions that were treatable in primary care settings.
The finding casts doubt on the hope that expanded insurance coverage will help rein in rising emergency room costs just as more than two million people are gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
It won’t be so after it crashes under its own weight. Trust me
Nah, the Democrats will just keep flinging money at it. They have an endless supply of our money to spend
Paging Captain Obvious, please pick up the white courtesy phone . . .
I’m just recalling all the reasons my wise liberal FB friends gave over the past 8 yrs as to why this was so necessary.
1. Everyone will be covered. (Not true)
2. Costs will decrease (not true)
3. Quality of care will improve (not true)
4. Better access to clinics mean fewer trips to the ER. (Not true)
No. They don’t have an endless supply of money.
Fat happy foolish Americans think they do, but that’s false. A false assumption that comes from lazy parenting
As the govt, and the uneducated and economically foolish president print it, it decreases in value. It becomes a sovereignty and national security issue.
In college, I had to go to the ER to pick up a few roommates up who had driven with a friend who injured their leg. While waiting I remember listening to a Hispanic women complain that the told her to go to the drug store to get some OTC cold medicine, for a cold that started the prior day.
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