Author calls for better primary care for Medicaid patients to curb unnecessary emergency room visits

Although a goal of Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was to provide Medicaid patients with a source of nonemergency care outside of hospital emergency departments (EDs), researchers suggest that these newly enrolled patients will likely continue to look to EDs for treatment of chronic diseases and other nonemergency issues, despite state attempts to impose fees on ED visits. Health policy researchers suggest that patient-centered medical homes may be more effective in reducing the number of Medicare patients seeking nonemergency care in EDs than increasing the cost of the visits.

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