Navigating EMTALA Rules
Compliance Perspectives: Healthcare Compliance at the Border
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently rescinded its July 2022 guidance titled “Reinforcement of EMTALA Obligations specific to Patients who are Pregnant or are Experiencing Pregnancy Loss” (“2022...more
I. Key Takeaways - Federal enforcement under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) may be changing after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded guidance issued under the Biden...more
On May 29, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) rescinded its July 11, 2022 guidance (Ref. QSO-22-22-Hospitals) (the “2022 Guidance”) clarifying how the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act of 1965...more
On August 13, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and its Center for Clinical Standards and Quality / Quality, Safety & Oversight Group issued its memorandum QSO-24-17-EMTALA (the “Memorandum”),...more
On June 27, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Idaho v. United States on procedural grounds and sent the case back to the Ninth Circuit. By doing so, the Supreme Court reinstated the preliminary injunction issued by the...more
Almost 40 years after its passing, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) remains not only a key consideration for hospitals with emergency departments, but also a significant federal enforcement...more
CMS’s New Actions Related to EMTALA - On January 22, 2024, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), it will launch a comprehensive plan...more
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) have started a new effort to educate the public about the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)....more
On May 1st, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced investigations into two hospitals that did not provide necessary stabilizing treatment to a pregnant individual experiencing an emergency medical...more
On May 1, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) announced two investigations of hospitals that failed to offer necessary stabilizing care to a pregnant individual experiencing an emergency medical...more
The terms clinically stable and stable for transfer are frequently used by and familiar to emergency department and hospital staff. When it comes to compliance with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) in...more
On January 30, 2023, President Biden announced that both the COVID-19 national emergency and the public health emergency (PHE) will end May 11, 2023. This announcement has left many healthcare providers considering how the...more
In recent months, decisions and laws limiting abortion rights in the United States have forced health care providers that serve pregnant women to keep abreast of quickly changing legal restrictions affecting their...more
The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) requires hospitals with emergency departments and participating in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) programs to provide medical screening, treatment and...more
In eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion, the United States Supreme Court’s July 24, 2022 decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, returned the question of abortion regulation to the “people...more
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs, one federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), has become a focal point in the Biden administration’s efforts to challenge state attempts to restrict...more
HHS released guidance on July 11, 2022, stating that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA)—which requires hospitals and physicians to provide emergency medical treatment when an emergency medical...more
On July 11, 2022, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, issued a letter to hospitals stating that the Federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires physicians and...more
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (“Secretary”) issued a letter to healthcare providers ("Letter") and associated guidance on July 11, 2022, reminding applicable providers of their EMTALA...more
On July 1, 2021, the Office of Personnel Management (“OPM”), the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”), the Department of Labor...more
On March 30, 2020, CMS announced its “Hospitals Without Walls” initiative, which, among other things, invokes the HHS EMTALA waiver effective immediately. Specifically, the CMS Hospitals Without Walls Initiative waives...more
Responding to the Coronavirus public health emergency, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) has waived certain requirements of the Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including...more
Despite authority from the Secretary of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) to issue a blanket waiver of sanctions under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (“EMTALA”), as of the time of this posting, CMS has not done...more
Following President Trump’s proclamation on March 13, 2020, that the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States constitutes a national emergency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a Waiver or Modification...more
On March 13, 2020, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) issued a series of waivers pursuant to Section 1135 of the Social Security Act, following President Trump’s declaration that the...more