Out-of-State Acute Care Use Among Pediatric Medicaid Enrollees

How often do US children cross state borders for acute care?This cross-sectional study found that for 28.9 million encounters involving children younger than 16 years enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, 2.8% of all acute care encounters occurred out of state, with 10.0% living within a mile of a border crossing state lines for care.These findings suggest that publicly insured children access out-of-state acute care infrequently, but for those who do, changes in insurance coverage between states may alter their access to care.

Corresponding Author: Kenneth A. Michelson, MD, MPH, Division of Emergency Medicine, Ann kenmichelson@luriechildrens.org).

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