Medical Debt and Entry of Satellite Freestanding Emergency Departments.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Existing evidence suggests the growth of freestanding emergency departments (EDs) is associated with net increases in health care spending and inefficient use of emergency services; however, empirical research examining how these facilities are associated with patients' financial well-being is lacking.

Objective

To examine whether the entry of hospital-owned satellite freestanding EDs was associated with changes in county-level medical debt in collections.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional study examined the association of the entry of hospital-owned satellite freestanding EDs with medical debt between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2021, using a difference-in-differences design comparing counties with a freestanding ED opening with

SUBMITTER: Marthey D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12287832 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature