Dumping of Hospital Patients: Isn't There a Law Against This?
Yes. It's called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (also known as EMTALA). EMTALA is a federal statute which governs when and how a patient may be (1) refused treatment or (2) transferred from one hospital to another when he is in an unstable medical condition.
EMTALA was passed as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, and it is sometimes referred to as "the COBRA law". You may be familiar with another popular provision, also referred to under the COBRA name, which is the statute governing continuation of medical insurance benefits after termination of employment.
Any patient who "comes to the emergency department" requesting "examination or treatment for a medical condition" must be provided with "an appropriate medical screening examination" to determine if he is suffering from an "emergency medical condition". If he is, then the hospital is obligated to provide him either with treatment until he is stable or transfer him to another hospital in conformance with the statute.
Pregnant women fall within the category of having an "emergency medical condition" and must be treated until delivery or transferred appropriately to another facility.
Once patients are admitted to a hospital for inpatient care, EMTALA no longer applies. However, other laws require the hospital to provide appropriate inpatient care or an appropriate transfer and to plan properly for discharge.
EMTALA does not preclude the hospital from billing. Although EMTALA requires hospitals to treat emergency cases even if the patient cannot afford to pay, hospitals are still allowed to bill patients and/or their insurance for the care that is provided.