Analysis of Emergency Department Utilization in Medicaid Expansion and Non-expansion States

Introduction The Affordable Care Act has been debated since its initial enactment over a decade ago. One of the primary topics for discussion has been Medicaid expansion, which has created a schism across the United States. The effects of Medicaid expansion largely remain unclear. The purpose of this report is to elucidate how Medicaid expansion has impacted emergency department (ED) utilization by analyzing Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states to determine who visited the ED and the reason for the visit. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis using de-identified electronic medical record (EMR) data from 56,423 patients and 33 different hospitals (18 Medicaid non-expansion and 15 Medicaid expansion) who visited the ED in 2019. We used geographical demographics and insurance status to categorize patients who visited the ED and ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSC) to identify the reasons for the visit. Logistic regression and chi-square analysis were used to analyze the data. Results We observed a significant relationship between Medicaid expansion and geographic region such that patients living in rural or semirural regions likely resided in Medicaid non-expansion states. Patients using self-pay were more likely to live in a Medicaid non-expansion state than a Medicaid expansion state (32.3% vs. 21.5%, p-value < 0.0001). Finally, there were no significant differences between the top five ACSC for Medicaid expansion and Medicaid non-expansion states but living in an expansion state was significantly (p < 0.01) related to being diagnosed with an ACSC (OR, 1.056; 95% CI, 1.013-1.100). Conclusion In conclusion, Medicaid expansion was associated with differences in the use of medical resources. Patients using Medicaid insurance who reside in Medicaid expansion states preferentially use the ED. Geographical location does play a role in ED utilization and ambulatory care sensitive condition diagnoses in patients. Despite these findings, the full effects of Medicaid expansion on ED utilization require further investigation. However, our research indicates that Medicaid expansion is not the singular solution in decreasing ED utilization and healthcare costs.