Medicaid cuts could strain EDs

Among individuals without stable insurance coverage, emergency departments are often the healthcare safety net of last resort — and upcoming cuts to Medicaid could put EDs under more strain. 

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law July 4, curbs Medicaid spending by $1 trillion through 2034, which is expected to contribute to 11.8 million people without health insurance coverage within the next decade. States already experiencing high ED utilization could face greater strain as more residents without insurance turn to the ED for non-routine or delayed care.

KFF analyzed 2023 community hospital data, the most recent available, from the 1999-2023 American Hospital Association Annual Survey, and compared it to population reports from the Census Bureau.

Here are the states and the District of Columbia ranked by total hospital ED visits per 1,000 population:

West Virginia: 596

North Dakota: 591

Louisiana: 589

Mississippi: 567

Maine: 555

Ohio: 541

Indiana: 539

Kentucky: 514

Missouri: 511

District of Columbia: 500

Pennsylvania: 489

Nebraska: 486

Connecticut: 481

Massachusetts: 473

Tennessee: 468

Arkansas: 466

Rhode Island: 464

Florida: 455

New York: 452

New Hampshire: 446

Kansas: 444

Michigan: 444

Vermont: 439

Delaware: 438

Oklahoma: 437

North Carolina: 432

Virginia: 429

United States: 422

South Carolina: 418

Texas: 416

Illinois: 412

Colorado: 409

Idaho: 407

Alabama: 402

New Mexico: 402

Wyoming: 394

Georgia: 392

Montana: 388

Iowa: 387

Oregon: 386

Wisconsin: 384

South Dakota: 370

New Jersey: 369

Washington: 366

Minnesota: 352

California: 346

Hawaii: 333

Maryland: 303

Utah: 287

Arizona: 281

Alaska: 258

Nevada: 226