EMTALA and Its Impact on Healthcare Consumers

EMTALA and Its Impact on Healthcare Consumers
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Congress's enactment of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) in 1986 reiterated the federal government's commitment to ensure equitable access to the emergency department (ED) services irresponsible of the individual's economic potential (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2022). All patients visiting an ED are guaranteed an appropriate medical screening exam to diagnose an emergency health condition. If a healthcare facility lacks the capacity to stabilize the patient or upon the patient's request, a proper transfer must be granted. Any healthcare provider or organization that violates EMTALA can face civil suits or administrative penalties (Hsuan et al., 2018). The policy has had a substantial impact on American healthcare consumers.
This policy prevents healthcare facilities from limiting or denying treatment to healthcare consumers based on their ability to pay or insurance status and transferring them to other healthcare facilities. This contributes to equitable access to healthcare and positive health outcomes for American healthcare consumers. Additionally, the legislation prevents the issue of "dumping" uninsured or indigent clients. In this respect, all patients must receive uniform treatment, whether self-pay, uninsured, or insured (Shenoy et al., 2022). Patient dumping initially represented a s...