Pennsylvania ER visits among the nation's longest
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A typical emergency room visit in Pennsylvania runs more than three hours, per new federal data.
Why it matters: New insurance eligibility rules could push more patients to delay care until their conditions become emergencies, further straining emergency departments.
- Longer ER visits can mean longer waits to see a clinician, which are linked to worse patient experiences, health risks and higher health care costs.
The big picture: Americans spent a median two hours and 42 minutes, in hospital emergency departments in the year ending Sept. 30, 2025.
- Visits have been getting longer in nearly half of U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, per Axios' analysis of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services data.
Context: The measure tracks full ER visits, from arrival through discharge, for patients who went home. It excludes those who were admitted, transferred or who left against medical advice.
Zoom in: The median visit in Pennsylvania was over three hours, and four minutes longer than the year prior. Visits are even longer for mental health patients, whose median ER stay is nearly five hours.
- Pennsylvania ranked among 10 states with the longest median ER visits.
- Median visits stretched from 3.5 to well over 4.5 hours at several Pittsburgh-area hospitals, including high-volume Level I trauma centers Allegheny General, UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Mercy.
- Waits also vary by the severity of injury and illness. AHN hospitals and UPMC Children's post estimated wait times online.
Between the lines: The majority of U.S. emergency departments report overcrowding, and nearly a quarter of people requiring inpatient care have to wait at least four hours for a bed, per a recent study published in JAMA, which can worsen bottlenecks.
- "Beneath the surface of longer emergency department wait times, there will be a range of impacts from delays in accessing care to a loss of services," Beth Feldpush, senior vice president of advocacy and policy at America's Essential Hospitals, told Axios.
- Workforce shortages have led to longer emergency department waits at 70% of Pennsylvania hospitals and delayed appointments and procedures at 68%, per a 2025 survey from three Pennsylvania health care associations.
Flashback: UPMC completed a $24 million expansion of Monroeville's UPMC East in 2020, more than doubling its emergency department capacity to meet growing need, among other systemwide efforts to improve patient experience.
What we're watching: Allegheny General is overhauling its emergency department in a roughly $50 million project aimed at expanding treatment and critical care capacity, cutting wait times and improving patient flow.
- UPMC's $1.3 billion, 17-story Kamin Tower at Presbyterian Hospital is on track to open early next year.