Aug. 10, 2010 From 1997 to 2007, the rates of visits to
emergency departments in the U.S. increased significantly,
particularly among adults with Medicaid, according to a study in
the August 11 issue of JAMA. Emergency departments (EDs) are
unique providers for health care in the United States because
services are provided to all persons regardless of insurance or
ability to pay. "As such, the Institute of Medicine has labeled
EDs as 'the Safety Net of the Safety Net . . . the provider of
last resort for millions of patients who are uninsured or lack
adequate access to care from community providers.' Among all
EDs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention further
identified a subset as safety-net EDs because these EDs provide
a disproportionate share of services to Medicaid and uninsured
persons," the authors write. Recent studies have suggested an
increasing number of uninsured and underinsured persons using
emergency departments, with the potential effects of this a
concern for the health care safety