Because of Oregon’s expansion of  Medicaid,  the rate of visits to emergency departments  as well as hospital readmissions have dropped despite  a more than 50 percent increase in the number of people using the program, according to a new analysis by the state.

Key findings of the report include:

• 83.8 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries were able to receive appointments and care when they needed it, up slightly from 83 percent in 2014.
• 43.1 enrollees visited an emergency department per 1,000 member months, compared with 47.3 in 2014.
• 8.6 percent of adult Medicaid beneficiaries were readmitted to a hospital within 30 days of discharge, down from 11.4 percent.

The drop in ER use is especially surprising. In 2008, the state used a lottery to expand its Medicaid program for low-income adults and studies  showed an uptick in ER use.

To read the state report, please hit this link.