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Doctors Sue Over Emergency Room Rationing in Washington

Physicians are suing the state of Washington in an effort to overturn the decision that low-income Medicaid patients will be limited to three non-emergency visits to the emergency room each year, which went into effect October 1. The suit seeks to get rid of the limit, which it says puts patients at risk.

The limit, which was created to reduce costs in emergency rooms, comes with a new list of 700 non-emergency symptoms, including difficulty breathing, dizziness, early-pregnancy hemorrhage, gall stones, abdominal pains and chest pains not related to a heart attack. Patients with any of the 700 symptoms are urged to visit the regular doctor's office instead of the emergency room. But doctors say patients may not be able to tell if their symptoms are indicative of an emergency.

For example, if a child burns himself on the stove, a parent may not know the difference between first, second and third degree burns. Doctors are opposing the limit primarily because of the list of diagnoses that the state is proposing to be non-emergencies, like chest pains and heart arrhythmias and dysrhythmias, which can result in sudden death, sudden blindness, and hemorrhages during miscarriage, Doctor Steve Anderson said. "Their proposal is dangerous. It's almost funny it's so scary they would have them on the list.

"I don't want people to sit at home and self diagnose. People should seek care early for true emergencies -- that's what the ER is for. We're open 24/7, 365 days a year, so if your chest pains started at 10 p.m., you shouldn't wait until the next morning to call your primary care doctor," he said. Sexually transmitted diseases are also included on the list of non-emergencies. "A lot of people don't want to go to their family doctor with these issues," Anderson said.

The Healthcare Authority of Washington has been in contact with 15 other states regarding the emergency room limit. If the limit works in Washington, these other states are considering implementing it.

Complete article
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/doctors-sue-er-limits-washington-state/story?id=14647658