A new Health Affairs article and a policy brief examine the implications of cuts to public coverage programs like Medicaid and SCHIP. The Health Affairs article finds that Medicaid and SCHIP cuts would increase emergency department visits by the uninsured, suggesting that cost containment actions on public coverage programs would shift costs to hospital uncompensated care. The policy brief examines the share of current enrollees in public programs who would have other coverage options if public coverage were no longer available and estimates that no more than 9 percent of currently enrolled low-income adults would have access to an alternative source of insurance.

Health Affairs article, Medicaid/SCHIP Cuts And Hospital Emergency Department Use (Free Access)

Abstract Reprint

What Happens When Public Coverage Is No Longer Available?

Interview with Peter Cunningham, the author of the Health Affairs article

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For KFF reference: /closerlook/10jan06