Trends in Emergency Department Visits Among Undocumented Patients - Takeaways - MDSpire

Trends in Emergency Department Visits Among Undocumented Patients

  • By

  • Rama A. Salhi

  • Sarah Rapaport

  • Melissa A. Meeker

  • Fiona Danaher

  • Matthew Gartland

  • Margaret E. Samuels-Kalow

  • May 26, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    The study evaluated emergency department visits among undocumented patients in Massachusetts following the rescission of the Protected Areas Policy.

  • 2

    A total of 357,643 visits were analyzed, revealing an 11.2% decrease in adult visits and a 13.4% decrease in pediatric visits with MHL/missing insurance.

  • 3

    Patients with Portuguese as a preferred language had the highest rates of MHL/missing insurance and showed a 17.2% decline in visits.

  • 4

    The study found that using preferred language as a proxy did not consistently reflect the decline in visits seen with insurance data.

  • 5

    Limitations include the state-specific nature of Medicaid products and the inability to establish causative relationships between policy changes and care-seeking.

Original Source(s)

Trends in Emergency Department Visits Among Undocumented Patients

  • by Rama A. Salhi, Sarah Rapaport, Melissa A. Meeker, Fiona Danaher, Matthew Gartland, Margaret E. Samuels-Kalow

  • May 26, 2026

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