Emergency rooms Despite the rise of seemingly everything health care-related, one thing has been dwindling: emergency rooms. The American Hospital Association says the country has 650 fewer emergency rooms than it did 20 years ago. Thats no reflection of demand -- emergency room visits in the U.S. actually have shot up 35 percent from 1999 to 2009 -- but instead is the by-product of numerous hospitals shuttering their doors. More heavily affected have been hospitals and ERs serving the poor -- The New York Times reports that so-called safety-net hospitals that serve disproportionate numbers of Medicaid patients and hospitals serving a large share of the poor were 40 percent more likely to close, according to one study. The problem is particularly worrisome with implementation of the Affordable Care Act right around the corner. Various studies and hospital CEOs say that private practitioners likely wont be able to shoulder the flood of formerly uninsured patients, which in turn will lead to many showing up to ERs attempting to seek regular care.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 05:35:51 +0000
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