Our Health Policy Matters

New!! Can't remember exactly where you got a data reference from Our Health Policy Matters? Check out the new Data Source Links page for a complete list of past hyperlinks used in all Our Health Policy Matters columns. A growing number of highway billboards encourage people to use hospital emergency rooms.   The ones in my area advertise pre-registration to avoid lines or shorter waiting times. These billboards clearly aren’t targeted to people riding in the backs of ambulances, who generally aren’t ER comparison-shopping.   They’re for potential ER users who are in a position to make a choice.   That’s the “non-urgent” crowd. The irony is that these billboards are proliferating just as state policymakers impose new charges to discourage non-urgent ER use. Two examples from recent weeks:   Florida’s Legislature voted to impose a $100 charge on non-urgent emergency room visits by the Medicaid population.   Connecticut decided to impose a new $35 charge o...

New!! Can't remember exactly where you got a data reference from Our Health Policy Matters? Check out the new Data Source Links page for a complete list of past hyperlinks used in all Our Health Policy Matters columns. A growing number of highway billboards encourage people to use hospital emergency rooms.   The ones in my area advertise pre-registration to avoid lines or shorter waiting times. These billboards clearly aren’t targeted to people riding in the backs of ambulances, who generally aren’t ER comparison-shopping.   They’re for potential ER users who are in a position to make a choice.   That’s the “non-urgent” crowd. The irony is that these billboards are proliferating just as state policymakers impose new charges to discourage non-urgent ER use. Two examples from recent weeks:   Florida’s Legislature voted to impose a $100 charge on non-urgent emergency room visits by the Medicaid population.   Connecticut decided to impose a new $35 charge o...