Maryland Emergency Room Wait Times Are Still Among The Worst In The Country

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Over a year since creating the Maryland Emergency Department Wait Time Reduction Commission in July 2024, wait times in Maryland’s hospitals have remained well above average.

However, an interim report says that the differences in wait times narrow substantially when controlling for hospital size, academic status and patient mix. Marylanders also seek care in the emergency department at lower rates per capita compared to national averages.

Some Southern Maryland hospitals have improved their wait times.

Calvert County’s wait time sits at about six hours, Luminis in Anne Arundel County at nine hours, UM Charles at nine hours and MedStar St. Mary’s at seven hours, according to the 2024 report. Out of these hospitals, Calvert County and Luminis improved their times, and UM Charles and MedStar St. Mary’s saw increased wait times from 2023–2024.

The report says that part of the problem is the number of people waiting for “beds” in the emergency room. Bottlenecks are created when people need to be admitted to and moved to different areas of the hospital, but the hospital doesn’t have a place to put them until someone else leaves.

Additionally, cuts to Medicaid mean people who are uninsured or underinsured may seek emergency room care instead of going to urgent care or seeing physicians in-office. Those cuts can also undercut the hospital’s finances as a whole, making them slower to offer services and slower to clear bottlenecks. Finally, adults 65 and older made up 17.6% of Maryland’s population in 2024, a number expected to rise.

In the meantime, Prince George’s County has also created its own Hospital Emergency Room Wait Times Task Force. The Maryland Emergency Department Wait Time Reduction Commission is expected to complete its work and disband by 2027, and the 2025 report is due at the beginning of next year.

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