Title: What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)? - FindLaw
Headings: What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)?
What is the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)?
What is EMTALA?
Does EMTALA Apply to All Hospitals?
What Actions Must a Hospital Take Under EMTALA?
1. Appropriate Medical Screening Examination
2. Stabilization of Any Emergency Medical Condition
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What If a Hospital Does Not Follow EMTALA?
What Does a Patient Have to Prove in a Lawsuit?
Is There a Penalty for Violating EMTALA?
Protect Your EMTALA Rights: Call a Health Care Attorney

Content: Luckily, federal law known as “EMTALA” prohibits hospitals from doing so. What is EMTALA? The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, EMTALA, is known as the "anti-dumping" statute for its ban on patient dumping. Congress passed EMTALA in 1986 in response to a number of widely reported horror stories about emergency rooms turning away seriously ill or injured patients who had no insurance and no money to pay for treatment. Prior to EMTALA, there was no requirement that hospitals treat everyone who came to the emergency room and, in many states, hospitals were not held responsible for damages caused by their refusal to treat patients. A hospital could choose not to treat a patient who lacked insurance or enough money to pay for the required medical treatment. In some cases, patients died or suffered serious injuries because of a transfer or delay in treatment. Does EMTALA Apply to All Hospitals? EMTALA applies to all hospitals that have emergency rooms and participate in the Medicare program. Since almost all hospitals, public and private, receive Medicare funds, nearly all hospitals are covered by EMTALA.