Intense media scrutiny surrounding one particular case of patient dumping and the resulting public outrage at the dumping of seriously ill indigent persons were among the key factors ultimately leading to the drafting of the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ("EMTALA").
A deceased inmate's family brought an action under [ss] 1983, the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, and Puerto Rico's civil cede.
More than 90% of these hospitals violated the screening, stabilizing, treatment, or transfer provisions of the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1986.
Dumping of patients from emergency departments is now outlawed under the
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Included in the 1985 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), the anti-dumping laws, which took effect in 1986, require Medicare-participating hospitals with emergency departments (EDs) to screen and stabilize emergency patients unless a physician certifies that the benefits of transfer outweigh the risks.
"They know they can get treatment in this country." Under the federal
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, hospitals with emergency room services are required to treat anyone who requires care, including illegal aliens--but the act does not specify who is liable for the costs.
THE
EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT AND ACTIVE LABOR ACT (EMTALA) HELPS TO ENSURE QUALITY CARE.
The patient brought suit against the hospital, alleging that it violated an
Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) for, inter alia, failing to provide an appropriate medical screening and/or examination; failing to provide stabilizing medical treatment; failing to utilize staff available at the hospital to perform its duties and discharging her (which constitutes a transfer under EMTALA) while she was suffering from an unstabilized emergency condition.
