Emergency Department Utilization, Costs and Effects of the Homeless in Hawai’i
Emergency Department Utilization, Costs and Effects of the Homeless in Hawai’i
Date
2014
Authors
Mochizuki, Kenta
Contributor
Advisor
Traczynski, Jeffrey
Department
Economics
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University of Hawaii at Manoa
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Abstract
The homeless situation is a great concern for many here in Hawaii. Between 2012 and
2013, Hawaii had the 2nd highest homeless person per capita ratio, surpassed only by the District
of Columbia (National Alliance to End Homelessness 2014).
The purpose of this research is to find an estimate of the financial impact that the cost of
homeless healthcare is having on hospitals, physicians and tax payers and increase what is
known about the homeless in Hawai`i.
My data will come from the HMIS homeless database and the MEPS medical database.
My research will be done in four parts. The first will be to rebuild the fragmented homeless
dataset. The second is to organize my homeless sample and the MEPS data into bins. The third is
to create tables and other figures based upon that data. The fourth is to analyze my tables, other
figures and dataset. The fifth is to use computational methods to derive the needed estimates.
The findings of this paper were that the homeless go to the emergency department much
more than those in the general population. The homeless have a much lower insurance coverage
rate than that of the general population. The mean and median total unpaid estimate for the
homeless population who received emergency and outreach services is $28,127,689.59 and
$15,788,303.30. Having uninsured homeless individuals obtain Medicaid, does not immediately
increase payment amounts to emergency physicians.
Description
Keywords
homeless,
Hawai`i,
emergency department
Citation
Extent
55 pages
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