Opinion ID: 201731
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The EMTALA statutory scheme

Text: 8 Congress enacted EMTALA in response to the increasing number of reports that hospital emergency rooms are refusing to accept or treat patients with emergency conditions if the patient does not have medical insurance. Correa v. Hosp. San Francisco, 69 F.3d 1184, 1189 (1st Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). EMTALA imposes two primary requirements on participating hospitals: 3 9 First, it requires that a participating hospital afford an appropriate medical screening to all persons who come to its emergency room seeking medical assistance. See 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd(a). Second, it requires that, if an emergency medical condition exists, the participating hospital must render the services that are necessary to stabilize the patient's condition, see id. § 1395dd(b)(1)(A) . . . . 10 Id. at 1190. As an enforcement mechanism for these requirements, EMTALA creates a private right of action for violations. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 1395dd(d)(1), (2).