SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- As funding for public health clinics dries up, visits to hospital emergency rooms in Sacramento County are increasing.
The Sacramento Bee ( http://bit.ly/WWr58I) says ERs have become primary care clinics for many of the region's poor.
Since clinics began seeing budget cuts four years ago, the number of patients seeking emergency room treatment in Sacramento County grew by 80,000.
The Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development says the poor account for most of the rise.
Visits to public health clinics fell by about the same amount during the same time period.


