Hospital emergency departments are overwhelmed by patients who cannot get the care they need. And, some patients stay in hospitals longer than necessary due to the lack of available providers willing to accept low Medi-Cal reimbursement. Here are a few facts to chew on: 

• More than 13 million Californians are on Medi-Cal – that’s one in three!
• California ranks 47th in terms of Medi-Cal reimbursement.
• 40 percent of all emergency department visits are by Medi-Cal patients.
• 1 million people with behavioral health needs visited emergency departments last year.
• More than 1,000 patients with behavioral health needs are held in emergency departments every day. 

Our emergency departments provide the only guaranteed source of health care for the uninsured and supply round-the-clock health care access to anyone. The rate of non-urgent care is increasing, many of whom are newly insured Medi-Cal patients unable to access primary care in their community. 

In 2014, the first year of Medi-Cal expansion, hospitals treated 1 million more Medi-Cal patients than in the previous year. Much of this volume is driven by lack of access to primary care providers, due to extremely low reimbursement rates for doctors. 

An increased number of patients with unmet behavioral health needs in emergency departments are also adding to the problem of emergency department overcrowding. 

California’s decentralized and disorganized behavioral health delivery system has recklessly collided with emergency medicine. Decades of cuts to local and state funded behavioral health programs have led to an increased dependence on emergency departments – which lack the appropriate resources for effective treatment of a person experiencing a crisis. 

Preserving emergency departments for those truly needing emergent care is critical to making sure that life-saving treatment is available when needed. 

Let’s work together to improve health care for millions by ensuring that patients have access to primary care, behavioral health, post-acute and rehabilitative services. Patients recover quicker when they receive timely and appropriate care. And, the proper level of treatment is often less costly. 

Let’s work together to open the door to access. 

All patients deserve the right care, at the right time, at the right place.