EMTALA Proposed rule change

     Proposed rule changes to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) have been published in the Federal Register by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The changes, in a preliminary review, seem favorable to physicians and hospitals and are a major improvement over the current EMTALA policy, according to the AMA.  The American Medical Association's EMTALA Task force continues to push to return EMTALA to its original intent and is advocating for reasonable payment for screenings and stabilization services. 

     EMTALA was originally passed by Congress in 1985 to ensure patients in need of emergency care were not refused treatment due to their inability to pay.  This Act has now grown from a five-page law to more than one hundred pages of interpretive guidelines causing many physicians to cut back on their availability for emergency care. 

*The rule may be viewed through a link provided by the AMA at:

 www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/print/article/1751-6271.html

     Comments, ideas, or proposed changes must be received by CMS no later than 5:00PM on Monday, July 8, 2002 and should be addressed to:

     Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

     Dept. of Health and Human Services

     Attn: CMS-1203-P

     P.O. Box 8010

     Baltimore, MD 21244-1850   

     The American Medical Association has also posted a Quick Reference Guide concerning EMTALA on their site.  To access this information go to http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2650.html