Mass-ive ER Visits
Georgia health insurance shoppers wonder if the Massachusetts experiment in universal health care is working.
Define working . . .
According to the WSJ, ER visits in Massachusetts rose by 7% from 2005 to 2007. (The Mass health care experiment began in 2006).
What they don’t know is this. Did ER visits increase because of the expansion of health insurance or would visits have increased even without Romney Care?
While ER visits increased, the percentage of uninsured remained flat at 15%.
But there is this observation.
many of those in the ER are patients who can’t get in to see their primary-care doctor for a routine complaint. And, as we noted last fall, the increase in insurance coverage in Massachusetts has coincided with longer waits to see primary care doctors and a decline in the number of practices accepting new patients.
This has important implications for the national health-reform push. If you give everyone insurance, there are going to be more people trying to get in to see primary-care doctors – and, perhaps, heading to the emergency room when they can’t get an appointment.
When something is free demand increases. And no one saw that one coming?
Georgia residents generally don’t have to worry about long waiting lists to schedule an appointment with a PCP . . . unless you have Medicaid or Peachcare. We have many carriers offering competitive rates which means affordable health insurance for most.