Title: Impact of EMTALA EMRA
Headings: 
Emergency Medicine Advocacy Handbook
Ch. 4 - The Impact Of EMTALA
The Law
Medical Screening Examinations
The Stabilization Requirement
Appropriate Transfers
The Penalties
Expanding Patient Population and Burden
EMTALA and Diversion
Liability Reform
Repeal of EMTALA
WHAT’S THE ASK?

Content: 2 However, EMTALA has no funding mechanism, and the annual direct costs to physicians from uncompensated care provided under EMTALA are estimated to be $4.2 billion. 3 The law has helped to shape the modern emergency care system, but it has become the focus of increasing scrutiny. The purpose of EMTALA is to ensure equal treatment for any person seeking emergency care, but the law is under constant threat. The Law
In 1986, EMTALA went into effect as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985. 4 It established 3 main obligations on the part of all hospitals that receive Medicare funding and maintain an emergency department: 5,6
For any person who comes to a hospital emergency department, the hospital must provide for an appropriate medical screening examination… to determine whether or not an emergency medical condition exists. If an emergency medical condition exists, the hospital must stabilize the medical condition within its facilities or initiate an appropriate transfer to a facility capable of treating the patient. Hospitals with more specialized capabilities are obligated to accept appropriate transfers of patients if they have the capacity to treat the patients. Under EMTALA, these criteria must be met regardless of insurance status or ability to pay, and investigation of a patient’s financial status may not delay these basic obligations. 7 EMTALA compliance is regulated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).