Navigating EMTALA Rules
Compliance Perspectives: Healthcare Compliance at the Border
Since the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (Dobbs), hospitals and their emergency department (ED) clinicians in some states have faced significant uncertainty about their...more
The ongoing case Jhumra v. Orange County Global Medical Center (OCGMC) stems from an alleged delay in care and serves as a stark reminder of the legal obligations for hospitals and medical staffs under the Emergency Medical...more
Welcome to our eighth issue of 2025 of The Health Record -- our healthcare law insights e-newsletter. In this edition, we look at the rural health "slush fund" included in the Federal budget bill, the effect of Medicaid...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently rescinded its July 2022 guidance titled “Reinforcement of EMTALA Obligations specific to Patients who are Pregnant or are Experiencing Pregnancy Loss” (“2022...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has rescinded its 2022 guidance and accompanying letter that reinforced hospitals' obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to provide...more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Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) may be changing after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rescinded guidance issued under the Biden...more
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently published a press release rescinding its June 2022 guidance concerning hospitals’ obligations to pregnant women under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act...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On May 29, 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) rescinded its July 11, 2022 guidance (Ref.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 June 3, 2025, the Trump administration announced (the Announcement) that it would no longer follow Biden-era guidance (the Guidance) that directed hospitals to provide emergency abortions to pregnant women in emergency...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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the release of updated model signage for use by Medicare-participating hospitals to inform patients of their rights under the Emergency Medical Treatment...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
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has increasingly focused its efforts on investigating hospital emergency departments for potential violations of 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 impending end of the COVID-19 national and public health emergency will present a complicated landscape to navigate for hospital systems, which look to minimize the impact of the transition to post-pandemic normality....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
Since the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs) in June 2022, the impact of the Court’s decision continues to ripple across the health care delivery system. In this multi-part series,...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
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued updated guidance on July 11, 2022, reinforcing the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (“EMTALA”) obligations specific to patients who come to a...more