CMS provides EMTALA guidance to surveyors and regional offices

Healthcare Financial Management, Jan, 2004

CMS has provided interim guidance to CMS regional office staff and state survey agencies for their interpretation of hospital obligations to patients under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).

The CMS guidance sent out November 7 summarizes the EMTALA rule published September 9 and offers further clarification regarding when a patient is stabilized. The guidance notes that the enforcement of EMTALA remains a complaint-driven process, with investigation of a hospital's policies and processes and any subsequent sanctions to be initiated only by a complaint.

The CMS letter also directs surveyors to use the interim guidance and current CMS Interpretive Guidelines for EMTALA to assess hospital compliance with the final rule. Additional CMS letters clarifying CMS policies on EMTALA are on the CMS web site under Medicaid Survey and Certification. They address:

* On-call requirements

* Certification of false labor

* Policy clarification on hospital-owned and -operated ambulances participating in emergency medical services

To read the CMS interim guidance, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/survey-cert/sc0410.pdf. To read other CMS policy letters on EMTALA, go to www.cms.hhs.gov/medicaid/survey-cert/letters.asp.>

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