Children who live in poorly kept public housing in San Francisco are 39 percent more likely to make repeat visits to hospital emergency rooms than their counterparts who live in renovated public housing or in private homes, according to a new study in the policy journal Health Affairs. The study culled data from four years of emergency room visits—January 2007 through December 2011—that included 5,711 children with public insurance. And, notes the Examiner, because ER visits are between two and five times more expensive than a regular doctor visit, the disparity creates a financial as well as a health burden. [SF Examiner]
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