Title: EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
Headings: EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
EMTALA: The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
Emergency Rooms Must Screen and Stabilize Regardless of Ability to Pay
Legal Duties of Hospitals Under the EMTALA Law
EMTALA Does Not Provide Free Care

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Sheeren Jegtvig
on March 06, 2020
In 1986, the U.S. federal government passed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA). This act requires any hospital that accepts payments from Medicare to provide care to any patient who arrives in its emergency department for treatment, regardless of the patient's citizenship, legal status in the United States or ability to pay for the services. EMTALA applies to ambulance and hospital care. Tom Carter / The Photographer's Choice / Getty Images
EMTALA was developed to combat "patient dumping," the practice of refusing to treat people who did not have the ability to pay for healthcare services. It guarantees those with insufficient means will not be turned away from emergency medical care. Most US hospitals participate in Medicare so that in effect the law covers virtually all hospitals. EMTALA is contained within the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and falls under the auspices of CMS, the Center for Medicare Services. Legal Duties of Hospitals Under the EMTALA Law
Medical Screening Exams: Anyone arriving at a hospital emergency department must receive medical screening examinations to determine whether they are in a medical emergency. The law also says these must be done regardless of the financial or insurance status of the patient, in order of priority based only on medical need.