Effects of Educational Messaging on Urgent and Emergent Care–Seeking Behaviors Among Publicly Insured Populations

The impact of messaging campaigns on influencing urgent care– and emergent care–seeking behaviors, including the use of in-network providers, is not well-understood. Although out-of-network healthcare utilization can have negative financial consequences for patients in narrow network Affordable Care Act plans, individuals with time-sensitive medical conditions, and especially patients visiting the emergency department, may not think about out-of-network issues. Inappropriate or avoidable emergency department visits can also create unnecessary costs for patients