A number of factors could drive more patients into the ED rather than seeking care in a primary care physician’s office:
• There already is a shortage of primary care physicians in some areas and it is expected to get worse.
• People who have insurance are just as likely to visit the ED as those without insurance.
• The reform law will add 16 million Medicaid recipients, but many primary care physicians limit their Medicaid patients they see and already, these patients are the biggest users of EDs by far.
• Since Massachusetts passed universal health coverage in 2006, ED visits have been rising.
• Many EDs closed during the 1990s, leaving fewer to handle increasing volume.
Read the AP report on health reform.
