Trends in Hospital Emergency Department Visits by Age and Payer, 2006-2015 #238

Trends in Hospital Emergency Department Visits by Age and Payer, 2006-2015 #238

AHRQ Stats: Declining Hospitalizations Among Emergency Department Patients

Hospital admissions declined between 2006 and 2015 among people seeking care at emergency departments. The biggest decline – 27 percent – was among patients under age 18. (Source: AHRQ, Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Statistical Brief #238, Trends in Hospital Emergency Department Visits by Age and Payer, 2006–2015.)  

Trends in Hospital Emergency Department Visits by Age and Payer, 2006-2015

Ruirui Sun, Ph.D., Zeynal Karaca, Ph.D., and Herbert S. Wong, Ph.D. 

Highlights

The rate of ED visits per 100,000 population reached a 10-year high in 2015 for all age groups and increased the most for patients aged 45-64 years (20 percent, from 2006). The proportion of ED visits that resulted in hospital admission decreased for all age groups from 2006 to 2015. For patients aged under 18 years, the share of ED visits with Medicaid as the primary payer rose from 45 percent in 2006 to 62 percent in 2015. The share of Medicaid among ED visits for those aged 18-44 and 45-64 years rose with average annual increase of 11 and 14 percent, respectively, from 2013 to 2015, compared with 4 percent increase for both age groups from 2006 to 2013. The share of uninsured ED visits for those aged 18-44 and 45-64 years dropped with average annual decrease of 17 and 21 percent, respectively, from 2013 to 2015, compared with 0 and 2 percent increase, respectively, from 2006 to 2013. For patients under the age of 65 years, the share of ED visits covered by private insurance decreased from 2006 to 2015 and changed the most for patients under age 18 years (average annual decrease of 4 percent). For those aged 65 years and older, Medicare and private insurance accounted for 95 to 96 percent of all ED visits.