Assessing Catastrophic Health Expenditures among Uninsured People Who Seek Care in US Hospital Based Emergency Departments Scott K, Scott J, Sabbatini A, et al. JAMA Health Forum. 2021;2(12):e214359. Doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2021.4359

Uninsured patients have less healthcare options and often rely on the emergency department (ED) as a safety net despite having a higher cost of care. Catastrophic health expenditures (CHE) (annual out-of-pocket medical expenses exceed 40% of one's post-subsistence income) is a term used by the World Health Organization to compare out-of-pocket health care expenses with income. Studies have shown how the majority of uninsured patients are at risk of CHE when emergently hospitalized for emergency conditions, but previously there were no studies to evaluate how a single treat-and-release ED visit may contribute to CHE for uninsured patients.
Source: The Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Source Type: research