Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act

Acronyms (colloquial)	EMTALA
Legislative history
Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on April 7, 1986
United States Supreme Court cases
List Moyle v. United States, No. 23-726, 602 U.S. ___ (2024)

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)^[1] is an act of the United States Congress, passed in 1986 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). It requires hospital emergency departments that accept payments from Medicare to provide an appropriate medical screening examination (MSE) for anyone seeking treatment for a medical condition regardless of citizenship, legal status, or ability to pay. Participating hospitals may not transfer or discharge patients needing emergency treatment except with the informed consent or stabilization of the patient or when the patient's condition requires transfer to a hospital better equipped to administer the treatment.^[1]

EMTALA applies to "participating hospitals." The statute defines participating hospitals as those that accept payment from the Department of Health and Human Services', Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Medicare program.^[2] Because there are very few hospitals that do not accept Medicare, the law applies to nearly all hospitals. The combined payments of Medicare and Medicaid, $602 billion in 2004,^[3] or roughly 44% of all medical expenditures in the United States, make not participating in EMTALA impractical for nearly all hospitals. EMTALA's provisions apply to all patients, not just to Medicare patients.^[4][5]

The cost of emergency care required by EMTALA is not covered directly by the federal government, so it has been characterized as an unfunded mandate.^[6] In 2009, uncompensated care represents 55% of emergency room care, and 6% of total hospital costs.^[7][8]