if needed, must be provided. The required abilities are: Breathing Feeding Mobility Dressing Personal hygiene Toileting Medicating Communication Another competent person is available and able to meet the patient's needs following discharge. All patients have EMTALA rights equally, regardless of age, race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, residence, citizenship, or legal status. If patient's status is found to be illegal, hospitals may not discharge a patient prior to completion of care, but law enforcement and hospital security may take necessary actions to prevent a patient from escaping or harming others. Treatment may be delayed as needed only to prevent patients from harming themselves or others. Overloaded hospitals may not discharge a patient unable to pay to make room for a patient who is able to pay or is otherwise viewed by society as a more valued citizen. If the emergency department is overloaded, patients must be treated in an order based on their determined medical needs, not their ability to pay. Hospitals may not deny or provide substandard services to a patient who already has outstanding debt to the hospital and may not withhold the patient's belongings, records, or other required services until the patient pays. Hospitals and related services cannot receive a judgment against the patient in court filings made more than 36 months after the date the patient was discharged or the last partial payment the patient made to the hospital, contractor, or agent. After that period, the patient may not be threatened with legal action if payment is not made and may not be denied future outpatient services from the same company/agency that a patient is able to pay. If a patient has been awarded monetary damages against the hospital or any related or affiliated services by a court of law or has settled out of court on damages, the hospital and related/affiliated services may neither withhold money for lack of payment nor count the money toward the bill in lieu of making payment to the patient. Voluntary consent for such an arrangement is permitted only if initiated by the patient. Hospitals may not threaten or coerce a patient into such a settlement or mislead the patient into believing such an arrangement is required or recommended. Patients cannot face criminal prosecution for failure to pay even if the patient comes aware of inability to pay to the hospital. Hospitals and third-party agents may not threaten patients with prosecution as