EMTALA Violations Interactive Dashboard

by Niaz Murshed Chowdhury

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), enacted by the United States Congress in 1986 as a key provision of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), stands as a cornerstone of patient protection in the American healthcare system. Born from widespread public and professional outrage over the practice of "patient dumping"—the refusal of care or the transfer of medically unstable, uninsured patients from private to public hospitals for economic reasons—EMTALA established a fundamental right to emergency medical care. It mandates that any individual presenting to a Medicare-participating hospital's emergency department must receive a medical screening and stabilizing treatment for any emergency medical condition, regardless of their ability to pay, insurance status, citizenship, or any other demographic factor.

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