The effect of summer break length and structured summertime activities on overweight status of children

This study examined the impact of Oregon’s 2003 Medicaid policy changes—which resulted in large-scale disenrollment from the Oregon Health Plan (OHP)—on emergency department (ED) use for chronic illnesses. Using ED claims from 22 hospitals (March 2001–February 2005), we compared the proportion of chronic ambulatory care–sensitive visits before and after the policy changes across payer groups. Uninsured patients were significantly more likely to present with chronic conditions after the cutbacks (OR = 1.10), a pattern not seen in commercial or OHP groups. A similar trend appeared among uninsured patients with behavioral health diagnoses. These findings suggest that Medicaid cutbacks were followed by increased preventable ED use among uninsured individuals, underscoring the need to re-evaluate cost‑effective strategies for managing chronic illness care.