Researchers studied administrative claims data on 9,619 low-income, childless adults in Wisconsin who were enrolled in a public insurance program called BadgerCare in 2009.
In the year following enrollment, inpatient hospitalizations decreased 59 percent, and preventable hospitalizations decreased 48 percent. Researchers attribute the decline to increased access to preventative medicine and outpatient care (which increased 29 percent in the same period).
The researchers note that the findings suggest increased healthcare coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has the potential to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations and decrease the nation’s healthcare spending.
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