Medicaid expansion boosts ER visits
SALEM, Ore. – A new study has found that previously uninsured people enrolled recently in Medicaid went to the emergency room 40 percent more frequently than others, often seeking help for conditions that could be treated for less in a doctor’s office or an urgent care clinic.
The research, published Thursday by the journal Science, comes as millions of Americans gain health insurance this week under the federal health care law, many of them through Medicaid.
The findings help inform a long-running debate about the effect of expanding Medicaid and suggest that hospitals and health officials around the nation should be prepared for an increase in emergency room trips in the coming months.
The study is the third to arise from a limited expansion of Medicaid in Oregon five years ago.
Taken together with the earlier findings, the latest research indicates that expanding Medicaid improves mental health and leaves patients more financially stable in the first two years. But it increases spending for hospitals, primary care and prescriptions.
Netanyahu expresses doubts about Abbas
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blasted his Palestinian partner in peace-making efforts on Thursday, accusing him of embracing terrorists “as heroes,” harsh words that clouded the start of Secretary of State John Kerry’s tenth trip to the region to negotiate a peace deal he claims is “not mission impossible.”
Kerry arrived in Israel to broker negotiations that are entering a difficult phase aimed at creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel. He had dinner with Netanyahu and planned to be in the West Bank on Friday to talk with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry is asking both leaders to make tough, highly charged political decisions in hopes of narrowing differences on a framework that will outline a final peace pact.
“I know that you’re committed to peace,” Netanyahu told Kerry. “I know that I’m committed to peace, but unfortunately, given the actions and words of Palestinian leaders, there’s growing doubt in Israel that the Palestinians are committed to peace.”
Associated Press
