HEALTH-CARE UTILIZATION FOR THE NEWLY INSURED - RESULTS FROM THE WASHINGTON BASIC HEALTH PLAN

The risk of providing coverage for low-income people formerly without insurance is unknown. We conducted an evaluation to describe the use o f services from 1989-1992 for members of the Basic Health Plan (BHP), a subsidized health insurance program for low-income individuals in th e state of Washington. There was evidence of pent-up demand for care f or those who had been without insurance for more than a year. Overall, members in the BHP program were not high users of care, although one of the three plans we examined had significantly higher utilization th an the other two. BHP total expenditures were comparable to those for state employees and lower than those for Medicaid recipients.