Some low-income U.S. patients may have an easier time choosing a hospital for emergency care thanks to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), a new study suggests.
Under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, some U.S. states expanded coverage through Medicaid – a joint federal and state insurance program for the poor – starting in 2014.
That year, average travel times to the hospital for emergency department (ED) care dropped 9 minutes in 17 states where Medicaid coverage expanded, while it remained little changed in 19 states that didn't make more people eligible for these benefits, the study found.
