Source: http://calpatientguide.org/iv.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 14:03:18+00:00

Document:
You have the right to receive emergency care at any licensed facility with an emergency room.
You have the right to be treated until your emergency medical condition is stabilized when you go to a hospital emergency room.
You have the right be informed by the hospital of your right to receive emergency services, without regard to your ability to pay, prior to being transferred or discharged.
You have a right not to be transferred from an emergency care facility against your will.
You have important rights when you go to a hospital's emergency room, regardless of your insurance status. California law severely restricts and regulates the ability of all licensed health care facilities with emergency departments to transfer and discharge emergency patients.1 These laws expand upon the important protections in the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act ("EMTALA,").2 The federal protections under EMTALA and its regulations apply to all hospitals that participate in the Medicare program and apply to all patients that go to those hospitals, not just Medicare patients.
WHAT IS CONSIDERED AN "EMERGENCY MEDICAL CONDITION" THAT REQUIRES EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE?
Your condition is a medical emergency when your life, body parts or bodily functions are at risk of damage or loss unless immediate medical care is received.
DOES A WOMAN IN LABOR HAVE AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL CONDITION?
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS TO EMERGENCY CARE?
Hospitals must tell you, both orally and in writing, any reasons for transferring you or refusing to provide you services.
The hospital must post a sign in the emergency room informing you of these rights. Both the sign and written notice must inform you of the government agency you may file a complaint with, if necessary.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE MY MEDICAL CONDITION SCREENED?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE MY CONDITION STABILIZED?
WHEN CAN I BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER HOSPITAL?
A hospital cannot transfer you to another hospital when you go to a hospital's emergency department with an emergency medical condition unless you are stabilized and all other requirements under the California law are met (as listed below) or if an exception applies (e.g., if you need services not available at that hospital).
These requirements do not affect a hospital's ability to transfer you, however, for medical reasons or when you have specifically requested to be transferred and give your informed consent.
Can I Ever Be Transferred Against My Will?
No. Whether you are stabilized or not, you have a constitutional right to control your body and medical treatment. If you are forcibly transferred to another facility over your objection you may have a claim of battery, false imprisonment or other claims against the hospital or doctor.
Can I Be Transferred at My Request Before I Have Been Stabilized And Against Medical Advice?
WHAT ARE MY LEGAL RIGHTS IF I AM HARMED WHILE RECEIVING EMERGENCY CARE?
California law permits you to sue a transferring or receiving hospital that harms you as a result of violation of these laws or regulations. You may recover damages (money to compensate you for your losses), reasonable attorneys' fees, and other appropriate relief. You may also seek an injunction against the hospital, or administrative or medical personnel. An injunction is a court order directing that a particular illegal action be stopped, such as a transfer to another hospital when the benefits would not outweigh the risks. If the injunction is granted, you must be granted attorneys' fees.
WHAT ARE MY HEALTH CARE PLAN'S OBLIGATIONS WITH REGARD TO PAYING FOR EMERGENCY SERVICES I RECEIVE?
Under California law, your health plan must reimburse any doctor who performs any emergency services that you receive to stabilize you.20 The only time that a plan is not required to pay for your emergency health care services is when it determines that you did not require emergency services, and you should have known that an emergency did not exist. Your plan must also provide 24-hour access for you and doctors to obtain authorization for care once your condition has been stabilized.
WHERE CAN I GO FOR HELP WITH QUESTIONS OR COMPLAINTS REGARDING A HOSPITAL'S EMERGENCEY SERVICES?
Cal. Health & Safety Code §§1317 et seq.
42 U.S.C. §§ 1395cc, 1395dd.
Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317.1(b)] [42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(1).
42 Code Of Federal Regulations § 489.24.
42 U.S.C. §1395dd(e)(1)(B) and Cal. Health and Safety Code § 1317.1(c).
42 Code Of Federal Regulations §489.24(b).
42 U.S.C.§1395dd and Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317 et seq.
Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317(a).
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1317.3(d).
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1395cc(a)(1)(N)(iii) and (iv).
42 U.S.C. §1395dd(a) and Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317.1(a).
Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317(d).
42 Code Of Federal Regulations §489.24(a).
42 Code Of Federal Regulations §482.55.
42 U.S.C.§1395dd(e)(3)(A) and Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317.1(j).
42 U.S.C.§1395dd(e)(3)(B) and 42 Code Of Federal Regulations §489.24(b)(ii)(B).
Cal. Health & Safety Code §1317.2.
Cal. Health & Safety Code § 1317.2(i); 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(b)(2) and (3) and 42 Code Of Federal Regulations §489.24(c)(2).
Cal. Health and Safety Code §1371.4.

References: §1317
 §1395
 § 489
 §1395
 § 1317
 §489
 §1317
 §1317
 § 1317
 § 1395
 §1395
 §1317
 §1317
 §489
 §482
 §1317
 §489
 §1317
 § 1317
 § 1395
 §489
 §1371