A new study shows that insurance reform may not impact the increase in emergency room visits. More than 80 percent of emergency physicians say they’re increasing their emergency departments. Ninety-seven percent of emergency physicians also report helping Medicaid patients daily because they could not find a doctor to accept their health insurance.

Officials worry that new health care reform legislation may provide insurance coverage that reimburses doctors at Medicaid rates which will make this problem worse. “This poll confirms what we are witnessing in Massachusetts — that visits to emergency rooms are going to increase across the country, despite health care reform, and that health insurance coverage does not guarantee access to medical care,” said Dr. Sandra Schneider, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians in a news release.   “Emergency medicine provides lifesaving and critical care to millions of patients each year and yet only represents 2 percent of the nation’s health care expenditures.  Emergency physicians command the resources of a hospital to provide the best care for patients, but we must be prepared for increasing numbers of patients, not fewer, especially given our growing elderly population.”

The poll included responses from 1,768 emergency physicians. Seventy-nine percent of those responding say they’re using resources more efficiently, but nearly half worry that lawsuits will force them to cut costs in their departments. “Emergency departments need more resources, not fewer, and medical liability reform would help reduce overall costs by reducing the need for defensive medicine,” said Dr. Schneider. Roughly two-thirds of ER visits occur when doctor’s offices are closed and patients need urgent care. In 2008, ER visits reached nearly 124 million, an all-time high according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.