MA is the closest state to having something like this plan we're about to field nationwide. Their ER visits have not declined since they covered nearly all their population, ER visits have gone up. And, at least as of 2008, they'd gone up faster than the US as a whole.The unconstitutional idea of having everyone have insurance was supposed to alleviate the crunch on ER doctors and facilities from EMTALA. Not any more...
AP item, reprinted here.
The idea that this law is going to reduce costs by getting patients out of the expensive ER by giving them access to lower-cost family practice physicians, urgent care, etc doesn't seem to be working out in practice where it's been tried. But, the idea seemed logical and it helped sell the plan, so that's probably good enough.Kellermann and other experts point to Massachusetts, the model for federal health overhaul where a 2006 law requires insurance for almost everyone. Reports from the state find ER visits continuing to rise since the law passed—contrary to hopes of its backers who reasoned that expanding coverage would give many people access to doctors offices.
Massachusetts reported a 7 percent increase in ER visits between 2005 and 2007. A more recent estimate drawn from Boston area hospitals showed an ER visit increase of 4 percent from 2006 to 2008 — not dramatic, but still a bit ahead of national trends.