Pennsylvanians who are more frequently admitted to the hospital claim a disproportionate amount of public health money, according to a recent study by a state health cost-tracking agency.

Research published in February by the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, or PHC4, shows patients admitted into a hospital five times or more between July 2013 and June 2014 comprised only 3 percent of total inpatient admissions.

But those 3 percent ate up 14 percent or $545 million of all inpatient Medicare claims payments and 17 percent or $216 million of all inpatient Medicaid claims payments.

It comes down to access.

Patients who lack health insurance or a primary care physician, especially those with chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, often dont get regular care to effectively manage their symptoms.

Richard Martin, M.D., department director for Geisigners community practices in Lackawanna and Monroe counties, said its a lack of regular maintenance that leads to catastrophe in the form of emergency room visits, followed by longer stays in the hospital.

Many of these people just dont have insurance, he said. So they wait until an illness becomes more significant that they end up in the emergency department.

Experts blame a flawed health care system, saying the burden, at least in part, falls on doctors to offer preventive and follow-up care patients need to stay out of the hospital bed and a few steps ahead of their illnesses.

While it may seem these so-called super-utilizers are taking more than their fair share of public health resources, many health care professionals in the region are quick to caution against throwing accusations.

I dont think it would be fair to say, well, these people are abusing the system; these people are feeding at the trough inappropriately, said Justin Matus, Ph.D., associate dean at Wilkes Universitys Sidhu School of Business.

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Study: Health care 'super-utilizers,' cost ratio uneven