Patients without insurance and those on Medicaid have a higher likelihood of being transferred to another hospital, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Researchers examined 30 million emergency department visits to 953 hospitals included in the 2015 National Emergency Department Sample. They identified the 215,028 ED visits for three common medical conditions: pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. They only included ED visits at hospitals with advanced critical care capabilities.
Researchers found a great deal of variation in discharge, transfer and hospital admission rates across EDs. Compared with privately insured patients, uninsured patients were more likely to be discharged and transferred to another hospital. Medicaid beneficiaries had similar odds of discharge when compared with privately insured patients, but they did have higher odds of transfer.