Title: Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act - Wikipedia
Headings: Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act
Contents
Mandated and non-mandated care
Non-covered medical conditions
Hospital obligations
Amendments
Effects
Improved health services for uninsured
Cost pressures on hospitals
See also
Notes and references
External links

Content: Because there are very few hospitals that do not accept Medicare, the law applies to nearly all hospitals. The combined payments of Medicare and Medicaid, $602 billion in 2004, or roughly 44% of all medical expenditures in the U.S., make not participating in EMTALA impractical for nearly all hospitals. EMTALA's provisions apply to all patients, not just to Medicare patients. The cost of emergency care required by EMTALA is not directly covered by the federal government, so it has been characterized as an unfunded mandate. Uncompensated care represents 6% of total hospital costs. Contents
1 Mandated and non-mandated care
1.1 Non-covered medical conditions
2 Hospital obligations
3 Amendments
4 Effects
4.1 Improved health services for uninsured
4.2 Cost pressures on hospitals
5 See also
6 Notes and references
7 External links
Mandated and non-mandated care
Congress passed EMTALA to eliminate the practice of "patient dumping," i.e., refusal to treat people because of inability to pay or insufficient insurance, or transferring or discharging emergency patients on the basis of high anticipated diagnosis and treatment costs. The law applies when an individual seeks treatment for a medical condition "or a request is made on the individual's behalf for examination or treatment for that medical condition." The U.S. government defines an emergency department as "a specially equipped and staffed area of the hospital used a significant portion of the time for initial evaluation and treatment of outpatients for emergency medical conditions ." This means, for example, that outpatient clinics not equipped to handle medical emergencies are not obligated under EMTALA and can simply refer patients to a nearby emergency department for care. An emergency medical condition (EMC) is defined as "a condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the individual's health [or the health of an unborn child] in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of bodily organs."