Despite ACA, ER outpatient visits rise in L.A. County last year

Hospital emergency room use in the nation's most populous county continues to rise even as the Affordable Care Act takes deeper root. ER care for patients not serious enough to be admitted as inpatients grew 4 percent in the first half of 2014 versus the same timeframe in 2013, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, outpatient visits to Los Angeles County's public hospitals actually dipped 9 percent during that same period last year when compared to 2013. Privately-operated hospitals say they have had no issues managing the surge of patients as of yet. Read the full article at FierceHealthcare