Emergency department visits by children, adolescents, and young adults in California by insurance status, 2005-2010

摘要

Concerns regarding cost, continuity of care, and crowding continue to bring emergency department (ED) use under nationwide scrutiny. Although many hope that increasing insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act will lead to decreases in ED visits, recent evidence in adults suggests that increasing access to specifically Medicaid insurance may actually be associated with increased ED use. This ongoing discussion regarding the association between insurance coverage and ED use, however, has focused primarily on adults. Most prior research on trends in ED use in children, adolescents, and young adults predates the recent economic downturn and associated changes in insurance coverage, or analyzes reported use per person rather than actual visit rates.