Hospital emergency rooms (ERs) the theory goes get overcrowded because people without health insurance have no place else to go. But thats not the view of the doctors who staff those emergency departments says NPR.
The real problem according to a new survey from the American College of Emergency Physicians isnt caused by people who dont have insurance -- its caused by people who do but still cant find a doctor to treat them.
- A full 97 percent of ER doctors who responded to the survey said they treated patients daily who have Medicaid (the federal-state health plan for the low-income) but who cant find a doctors who will accept their insurance.
- At the same time 97 percent of ER doctors also said they treat patients daily who have private insurance and primary care doctors but whose primary care doctors sent them to the emergency room for care.
- Apparently thats because the patients need for care arose during a time when that private doctors office was closed.
- Since these insured patients are more -- not less -- likely to use the emergency department 89 percent of physicians in the survey said they believe the number of visits to emergency rooms will increase as the new health law is implemented. Source: Julie Rovner Emergency Room Doctors Say Health Law Will Make ER Crowding Worse NPR April 28 2011.
