Monday, August 15, 2022 | The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
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Mandatory Paid Sick Leave
The US stands out among other wealthy democracies for lacking nationally mandated paid sick leave. This leaves 23 percent of
the nation’s workforce without a single paid sick day.
Yanlei Ma and coauthors examine a potential benefit of state paid sick leave mandates in reducing emergency department (ED) use. Using longitudinal ED data from 2011 to 2019, the authors analyzed the impact of mandatory paid sick leave on ED visit rates.
Ma and coauthors find that, “Paid sick leave mandates were
associated with a statistically significant decline of 5.7 ED visits per 1,000 population.”
After breaking down the effects by age, payer, and condition, the authors discovered that the reductions in total ED visit rate were concentrated among Medicare patients.
Additionally, the authors find a potential spillover into pediatric ED visits as parents with paid sick leave might be more likely to stay at home with or seek care for their children. The authors indicate that flexibility and enhanced access to care might reduce pediatric ED visits.
Given the downstream benefits, Ma and coauthors propose mandatory paid sick leave as a policy mechanism to reduce ED use and costs in the US.
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Today in Health Affairs
Forefront, Tonantzin Juarez and April Joy Damian discuss how federally qualified health centers are uniquely positioned to address environmental justice as part of their mission to promote the health and well-being of the most vulnerable members of society.
Katie Keith discusses CMS’s suspension of the Georgia Access Model, which beginning in the 2023 plan year would have eliminated HealthCare.gov without transitioning to a state-based marketplace.
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podcasts and the digital publication Forefront, is provided for free. If you like our work, then consider becoming a Health Affairs Insider to show your support. You'll get access to our exclusive events, and a gift for joining, too.
Bamboo Health 988
Implementation
988, the new three-digit dialing code routing callers to the Mental Health Crisis Lifeline, is live. States must comply with federal law and develop infrastructure to support their communities’ 988 services. Bamboo Health is here to be the partner state government leaders need to support that plan.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
