Date and Time
April 6, 2005
1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Availability
Open to the public
No RSVP required

Over the past decade, there has been considerable effort to expand access to emergency care through the passage of patient protection legislation, both at the federal and state level. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and more recent initiatives in various states, now require that private health insurers, Medicare and Medicaid managed care organizations cover emergency room visits that fall under a so-called "prudent layperson standard," in which the definition of "emergency" is based on a reasonable layperson's interpretation of the presenting symptoms. The goal of this type of legislation has been to increase access to emergency care, but little research has examined the effects of this legislation on access.

The project discussed in this Research in Progress seminar examines the relationship between the state-led "prudent layperson" mandates and emergency department visits, to determine whether this form of patient-protection legislation has achieved its goals. The evidence suggests that the legislation has had little effect in terms of increasing the number of emergency department visits. The presenters at this seminar will explore the reasons behind this.