Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

E50004

United States federal statute health law patient protection law

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act is a U.S. federal law that requires hospitals to provide emergency medical screening and stabilizing treatment to anyone seeking care, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status.

Jump to: Surface forms Statements Referenced by

Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form	Occurrences
EMTALA	1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	United States federal statute ⓘ health law ⓘ patient protection law ⓘ
allows	private civil actions by individuals harmed by violations ⓘ
appliesRegardlessOf	ability to pay ⓘ citizenship status ⓘ immigration status ⓘ insurance status ⓘ
appliesTo	hospital emergency departments ⓘ hospital-owned ambulances under certain conditions ⓘ hospitals participating in Medicare ⓘ on-campus hospital departments ⓘ
codifiedIn	42 U.S. Code ⓘ
codifiedSection	42 U.S.C. § 1395dd ⓘ
country	United States of America ⓘ surface form: United States
defines	active labor ⓘ emergency medical condition ⓘ
doesNotRequire	care beyond screening and stabilization ⓘ non-emergency follow-up care ⓘ
effectiveDate	1986 ⓘ
enactedBy	United States Congress ⓘ
enforcedBy	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ⓘ Office of the Inspector General ⓘ surface form: Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
influenced	hospital emergency department policies in the United States ⓘ
jurisdiction	federal law of the United States ⓘ
language	English ⓘ
partOf	Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 ⓘ
primaryGoal	ensure public access to emergency services ⓘ prevent economic discrimination in emergency care ⓘ
prohibits	inappropriate transfer of unstable patients ⓘ patient dumping ⓘ refusal of emergency care based on inability to pay ⓘ
relatedTo	healthcare access for the uninsured ⓘ patient rights in emergency care ⓘ uncompensated care ⓘ
requires	acceptance by receiving facility before transfer of unstable patient ⓘ appropriate transfer procedures for unstable patients ⓘ documentation of risks and benefits of transfer ⓘ medical screening examination for anyone seeking emergency care ⓘ stabilizing treatment for emergency medical conditions ⓘ stabilizing treatment for patients in active labor ⓘ
scope	emergency medical conditions and active labor ⓘ
shortName	Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: EMTALA
signedBy	Ronald Reagan ⓘ
violationPenalty	civil monetary penalties ⓘ termination of Medicare provider agreement ⓘ
yearEnacted	1986 ⓘ

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

99th United States Congress → enacted → Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ⓘ

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act → shortName → Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: EMTALA