Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

Why EMTALA burdens could get lighter.

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) may be putting undue strains on some hospitals. To help those facilities, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced March 14 the appointment of a new technical advisory group (TAG) that will review regulations affecting hospital and physician responsibilities under the act.  TAG There To Protect Patients The TAG, which was required by the Medicare Modernization Act, should assist in developing "rules that will protect individual rights while minimizing unnecessary burdens on healthcare providers," CMS says.
 
Among the 19 members of the advisory group are CMS Administrator Mark McClellan and the HHS Inspector General Dan Levinson.

EMTALA requires hospitals with emergency departments to provide an appropriate medical screening when a person comes to the hospital and requests treatment for a medical condition. If a physician detects an emergency medical condition, the hospital must either stabilize the individual or transfer him to another facility.
 
To read about the meeting in the Federal Register, go to www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont05.html.