Prior to 1986, emergency department staff was both morally and ethically obligated to provide care that included the stabilization and treatment of all patients who presented to the emergency department, regardless of their ability to pay. In 1986, this moral and ethical obligation became federal law with the passage of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which required any patient coming to an emergency department be stabilized and treated regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay [1] [2]. Hospital emergency departments are a critical entry point into the American health care system. The patient population is a combination of the privately insured, including high deductible health plans, the uninsured, and the underinsured. Although emergency treatment is covered under EMTALA, hospitals are left to deal with the bills accumulated from non-emergent daily medical care. The increase in volume places tremendous burden on hospital emergency departments, with high overhead and fixed costs. Many facilities cannot keep up with costs and are forced into bankruptcy, leading to overcrowding in nearby hospitals. More thought must be placed on how hospitals can bear the burden of uncompensated care. Access to care is not enough; it’s crucial that care be affordable. Addressing uncompensated care in the emergency department can be done successfully. The staff is proficient in saving lives, now they must learn to put the same effort into saving money.
| Published in | International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment (Volume 2, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13 |
| Page(s) | 104-108 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group |
EMTALA, Affordable Care Act, Uninsured, Underinsured, Undocumented Immigrants, Emergency Care
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APA Style
Pamela Treister, Ruth Conboy, Lori Smittle, Christina Carter, Leah Lucarelli, et al. (2017). The Financial Impact of Uncompensated Care in the Emergency Department. International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment, 2(6), 104-108. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13
ACS Style
Pamela Treister; Ruth Conboy; Lori Smittle; Christina Carter; Leah Lucarelli, et al. The Financial Impact of Uncompensated Care in the Emergency Department. Int. J. Econ. Energy Environ. 2017, 2(6), 104-108. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13
AMA Style
Pamela Treister, Ruth Conboy, Lori Smittle, Christina Carter, Leah Lucarelli, et al. The Financial Impact of Uncompensated Care in the Emergency Department. Int J Econ Energy Environ. 2017;2(6):104-108. doi: 10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13,
author = {Pamela Treister and Ruth Conboy and Lori Smittle and Christina Carter and Leah Lucarelli and Erin Kampa},
title = {The Financial Impact of Uncompensated Care in the Emergency Department},
journal = {International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment},
volume = {2},
number = {6},
pages = {104-108},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijeee.20170206.13},
abstract = {Prior to 1986, emergency department staff was both morally and ethically obligated to provide care that included the stabilization and treatment of all patients who presented to the emergency department, regardless of their ability to pay. In 1986, this moral and ethical obligation became federal law with the passage of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which required any patient coming to an emergency department be stabilized and treated regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay [1] [2]. Hospital emergency departments are a critical entry point into the American health care system. The patient population is a combination of the privately insured, including high deductible health plans, the uninsured, and the underinsured. Although emergency treatment is covered under EMTALA, hospitals are left to deal with the bills accumulated from non-emergent daily medical care. The increase in volume places tremendous burden on hospital emergency departments, with high overhead and fixed costs. Many facilities cannot keep up with costs and are forced into bankruptcy, leading to overcrowding in nearby hospitals. More thought must be placed on how hospitals can bear the burden of uncompensated care. Access to care is not enough; it’s crucial that care be affordable. Addressing uncompensated care in the emergency department can be done successfully. The staff is proficient in saving lives, now they must learn to put the same effort into saving money.},
year = {2017}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - The Financial Impact of Uncompensated Care in the Emergency Department AU - Pamela Treister AU - Ruth Conboy AU - Lori Smittle AU - Christina Carter AU - Leah Lucarelli AU - Erin Kampa Y1 - 2017/12/14 PY - 2017 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13 T2 - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment JF - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment JO - International Journal of Economy, Energy and Environment SP - 104 EP - 108 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2575-5021 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeee.20170206.13 AB - Prior to 1986, emergency department staff was both morally and ethically obligated to provide care that included the stabilization and treatment of all patients who presented to the emergency department, regardless of their ability to pay. In 1986, this moral and ethical obligation became federal law with the passage of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which required any patient coming to an emergency department be stabilized and treated regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay [1] [2]. Hospital emergency departments are a critical entry point into the American health care system. The patient population is a combination of the privately insured, including high deductible health plans, the uninsured, and the underinsured. Although emergency treatment is covered under EMTALA, hospitals are left to deal with the bills accumulated from non-emergent daily medical care. The increase in volume places tremendous burden on hospital emergency departments, with high overhead and fixed costs. Many facilities cannot keep up with costs and are forced into bankruptcy, leading to overcrowding in nearby hospitals. More thought must be placed on how hospitals can bear the burden of uncompensated care. Access to care is not enough; it’s crucial that care be affordable. Addressing uncompensated care in the emergency department can be done successfully. The staff is proficient in saving lives, now they must learn to put the same effort into saving money. VL - 2 IS - 6 ER -
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