Emtala's Negative Impact On Healthcare

Impact on Healthcare With any passage of law, there have been impacts on how healthcare is provided after EMTALA was enacted. Hospital had to adapt their procedures and practices in order to remain in compliance with the law or risk their certifications for receiving Medicare and Medicaid payments. EMTALA enacted a critical change in how healthcare was accessed by individuals and guaranteed healthcare services for millions of people who did not have insurance coverage (Morreim, 2014). Conversely, the law originated significant costs on hospitals and providers by providing care for patients that could not pay for services (Morreim, 2014). Hospitals risk increased financial constraints by participating with the regulations of EMTALA or decide to withdraw from Medicare and Medicaid programs. No matter the decision, hospitals and providers faced increased financial deficits.

The definition for “appropriate medical screening examination” and “necessary stabilizing treatment” were not adequately delineated within the act and lead to many different interpretations on what services encompassed compliance (Rosenbaum & Kamoie, 2003). The definition of what was acceptable medical screening and necessary treatment varied between healthcare professionals from brief and simple, to complex. This became an issue for many organizations and physicians in endeavoring to remain compliant with the law. Another result of the implementation of EMTALA was the increase of patients utilizing ER services. A number of critics have pointed to EMTALA as the cause of over-utilization of ER services, even though there have not been any conclusive studies proving that the law is the cause of increased costs and congestion within hospital ERs (Rosenbaum & Kamoie, 2003).

Long Term