Medicaid Expansion Linked To Decline In Hospital Admissions & Decline In Uninsured Hospital Stays

Hospitals in states that expanded Medicaid, as compared with states that did not expand Medicaid, had a greater increase in Medicaid-covered inpatient hospital admissions and emergency department visits and a decrease in the emergency department visits that were not covered by insurance. In expansion states, there were significant decreases in admissions covered by commercial insurance and not covered by insurance (self-payment) and significant increases in Medicaid admissions.

In the non-expansion states, hospital volume remained unchanged; the share of visits covered by commercial insurance and by Medicaid increased; and uninsured visits declined. In non-expansion states, the share . . .