AAEM Position Statement on Funding for EMTALA Requirements

Whereas,

• One in five Americans currently does not possess health insurance,

• Emergency Medicine is experiencing a crisis in overcrowding and inadequate funding,

• Emergency departments are more than ever before expected to act as the front line for medical services in the event of regional or national disasters,

It is the position of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine that:

The federal regulation (EMTALA, 1986) requiring screening and treatment for medical emergencies must also be federally funded to provide emergency resources for those patients who do not pay for their mandated care.

Published: 9/13/03