Does the affordable care act impact patient visits in the emergency department?

(Johns Hopkins Medicine) As the debate surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) looms in the US Congress, Johns Hopkins researchers are weighing in on one aspect of the law. In 2014, as part of the ACA, Maryland was one of the states that expanded eligibility for its Medicaid program. One of the proposed benefits of expanding Medicaid under the ACA was a reduction in emergency department patient visits. However, some research prior to the ACA implementation found new Medicaid enrollees increase...