EMTALA Violations in the Healthcare System

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was introduced because of concerns that patients who needed emergency medical treatment were being denied access to that treatment due to inability to pay (Schecter, 2010). The law basically requires any hospitals that receive federal funding to provide emergency medical care under specific circumstances. However, despite the clear language of the law, hospitals and healthcare providers continue to willfully violate EMTALA. This leads one to wonder whether a for-profit healthcare system compatible with the goals of the EMTALA, or whether a for-profit healthcare system increase the risk of EMTALA violations, putting the health of the nation's least advantaged citizens at risk. While a profit-driven healthcare system seems to increase the likelihood that indigent patients will not receive appropriate care, even with the EMTALA's protections, that does not mean that the EMTALA is not a valid...
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