The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, known by its acronym of EMTALA for short, is a law that was passed by the US government to prevent a discriminatory process known as “patient dumping” where patients who were uninsured or underinsured were often transferred, sometimes in unstable condition, to other hospitals before being treated once their insurance status or other information regarding their financial ability to pay for treatment was discovered. Under EMTALA, you as a patient have a number of rights that cannot be violated by hospitals that have signed participation agreements. What are these rights, and how can you be sure that you are not being made a victim of patient dumping?
Understanding the EMTALA Rules for Emergency Medical Treatment
- One of the rights available to you under EMTALA as a patient at an emergency care facility is that you must be afforded the courtesy of a medical screening examination by the hospital where you are seeking treatment.
The purpose of this screening is to determine whether or not an active medical condition exists that would potentially endanger your life if it were untreated prior to your transfer to another hospital. This means that you have the right to be fully checked out by a hospital, whether or not you have insurance or are participating in Medicare or Medicaid, rather than being pushed off to another hospital right away without having any services rendered in an emergency situation.
- You also have the right to be treated promptly and without consideration to your financial status, insurance status, or ability to pay.
EMTALA states that treatment cannot be delayed because the hospital wishes to make an inquiry into your insurance status, and they must treat you first and ask questions later. Because of problems with some large hospitals refusing to treat people who did not have proof of insurance, EMTALA now requires that treatment occur without delay, prior to any question of whether or not you can pay for the procedures necessary to stabilize or diagnose your condition.
- There are special considerations under EMTALA for women who are pregnant and who are in active labor when they reach the hospital for treatment.
Under EMTALA, if you are in active labor when you reach the hospital, they must treat you up to and through the delivery, unless a condition exists or presents that would necessitate a transfer to another hospital in your own best interests.
Getting Help
As you can see, EMTALA was enacted for patient protection, and it covers you whether or not you have insurance. If a hospital or medical professional refuses to treat you in violation of EMTALA, this can be considered medical malpractice and you should contact an attorney as soon as possible to learn whether you may have a civil case against the hospital that denied you.
