The objective of this study was to examine the longitudinal patterns of emergency department () visits among adult fee‐for‐service Medicaid.
Data were obtained from the Medicaid analytic eXtract files, Area Health Resource File, and County Health Rankings.
A retrospective longitudinal study design, with four observations for each individual was used. The study population consisted of 33,393 Medicaid beneficiaries who met inclusion criteria. visits were time‐lagged and time‐varying patient‐level factors were measured for each year. Time‐invariant characteristics (gender and race/ethnicity) were measured in 2006. Multivariable hurdle models with logistic ( use versus no use) and negative binomial regressions ( visits among users) were used to analyze the visits over time. To account for correlation due to repeated observations, mixed effect models with robust standard errors were performed.
In both unadjusted and adjusted analysis, the likelihood of use did not change from year to year ( = 1.00, 95 percent : 0.99, 1.01). Among users, the estimated number of visits increased over time ( = 1.01, 95 percent : 1.01, 1.03).
Primary care resources should be a major focus to reduce the increased burden on the s.
