Rep questions U of Chicago's ED redirection initiative

Sadly, this practice primarily affects uninsured or underinsured patients causing them to be stabilized or moved to another hospital. This has been an issue for years at every healthcare organization nationwide including UCH.
Based on work schedules that don't allow patients to visit their PCP or possibly not have a PCP, some patients use the Emergency Department to address preventive needs that present as acute symptoms.
In addition, Medicare and Medicaid patients are dramatically impacted since university hospitals like UCH are in close proximity to underprivileged communities. If these patients are treated in an ED, there can be issues with reimbursement where government agencies (i.e. Medicaid and Medicare) refuse to pay because the physician cannot justify that the patient required emergency treatment. This is just one of the reasons for escalating healthcare costs. Often, medical centers eat the cost for these services because the severity isn't high enough for reimbursement. While we all sympathize with the needs to provide adequate patient care, physicians and administrators are tasked with treating them in a cost effective manner.
This issue justifies the need for Healthcare Reform to address the needs of patients rather than blaming institutions that serve them.