The association between community-level insurance coverage and emergency department use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Emergency departments (EDs) nationwide are key entry points into the health care system, and their use may reflect changes in access and need in their communities. However, no studies to date have empirically and longitudinally studied how changes in a community's level of insurance coverage, a key determinant of access, affect ED utilization.

Objective

To determine the effects of changes in a community's rate of insurance coverage on its population's ED use.

Methods

We conducted a longitudinal analysis of all California counties between 2005 and 2010 using comprehensive ED visit data from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Using Poisson regression with county and year fixed effects, we determined how changes in the rate of

SUBMITTER: Baker LC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4117395 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature