Summary: <p>What is the effect of expanding Medicaid on overall healthcare costs and use of the emergency room?<br> This type of question can't easily be answered by observational studies and requires a randomized controlled trial (RCT). But an RCT isn't easy to perform. However, a natural RCT serendipitously happened in Oregon a few years ago when Medicaid was expanded and the eligibility was deemed by a lottery system.</p> <p>Saurabh Jha (<a href="https://twitter.com/RogueRad">@RogueRad</a>) speaks to Professor Katherine Baicker, a leading economist and the Dean of the Harris School of Public Policy, and principal investigator of the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment, about the landmark study.</p> <p><strong>Links</strong>:</p> <p><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmsa1212321">The Oregon Experiment — Effects of Medicaid on Clinical Outcomes</a></p> <p><a href="http://science.sciencemag.org/content/343/6168/263.full?ijkey=GoMYHyTTSQ4.Q&keytype=ref&siteid=sci">Medicaid Increases Emergency-Department Use: Evidence from Oregon's Health Insurance Experiment</a></p> <p><a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1609533">Effect of Medicaid Coverage on ED Use — Further Evidence from Oregon’s Experiment</a></p>
