Posted on 10/02/2011 6:25:01 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington state is preparing to limit Medicaid coverage of emergency room visits for non-emergency care.
State officials have notified clients that they will get coverage for only three of those visits each year starting Saturday. Additional visits will not be covered, and patients may be billed for that care.
(Excerpt) Read more at khq.com ...
“The hospital ER CAN’T not see you. Under EMTALA they have to do a medical screening exam. If they determine the problem is non emergent THEN they can refer you away, but they MUST do the screening exam and establish that no emergent medical condition exists. And yes, EMTALA does not apply to Urgent Care clinics not physically on a hospital campus.”
You apparently know the law quite well.
So... here’s a question for you.
What if a “hospital campus” DOES NOT HAVE an “emergency care” clinic?
Would EMTALA laws apply to them, then?
You may reply that you have never heard of a hospital without an emergency room. So be it. But, I’m asking, if there are no emergency facilities present, does EMTALA still apply?
Just wonderin’....
Nope. there are some hospitals, usually “specialty’ hospitals like all ortho or all cardiology or all cancer, that do not have an ER. In that case EMTALA does not apply. Hopsitals have tried to close their ER’s to get around the law too, but thats tougher to do.
>>Doesn’t it strike you as a bit odd you can buy gas 24 hours a day but you can’t get non emergency medical care anytime except M-F 9-5 excluding holidays, if you can get an appointment?<<
Nope, not at all.
Because you CAN. I ran a Medical Office. Our hours included one night until 9 and Saturday morning.
Then there are Urgicares.
If your doctor doesn’t have the hours you like, find a new one. Free market and all that, you know.
Bull. You must live in dreamland! I dare you to find 24 hour urgent care facilities in most cities.
>>I dare you to find 24 hour urgent care facilities in most cities.<<
LOL! You misread it. I was giving you options for care every day. Our Urgentcares are open until 10 or 11 most nights. Seriously, if you can’t make up your mind to go to a clinic for non-emergency care by 10 O’Clock, you’re not really that sick. Call your doctor and get an appointment first thing in the morning. If you think you are going to die, you belong in an ER anyway.
It makes me wonder why there aren’t more (if not any) 24/7 medical practices.
>>It makes me wonder why there aren’t more (if not any) 24/7 medical practices<<
Because most people want to work 9-5. Not too many people mind giving up an evening or two and a Saturday but every night? No way.
We have emergency rooms for emergencies. We have doctor’s offices and clinics for everything else.
I walk into my local Walmart at 3am. The workers look dog tired and the shoppers are few and far between. You don’t get minimum wage workers in a clinic so having medical workers sitting around is not cost effective.
“there are some hospitals, usually “specialty’ hospitals like all ortho or all cardiology or all cancer, that do not have an ER. In that case EMTALA does not apply. Hopsitals have tried to close their ER’s to get around the law too, but thats tougher to do.”
I can understand where closing an “existing” ER might cause problems.
But suppose someone (let’s say, a group of doctors, administrators, etc.) wanted to build an “almost-full-service” hospital, but specifically WITHOUT an ER. Perhaps “urgent care” could be provided for subscribers (did you, or someone else, mention that “urgent care” facilities were not subject to EMTALA?), but no “walk-in emergency services” per se.
Would EMTALA still apply?
The idea is a “subscription/concierge-only” facility — where those with pre-arranged insurance could get services (including “urgent” services), and those who had prepaid concierge arrangements could receive care. But no one else.
A “private” hospital, if you wish.
I see this as a way to the future for quality medical care. And no, it purposefully won’t be “for everyone”, but rather for those who can pay for it.
It looks like “public” hospitals are on their way towards collapse — either a collapse of quality care, or even a total collapse to bankruptcy and shutdown.
Just sayin’...
Well, if you don’t accept Federal $$$ you can ignore EMTALA. Most hospitals can’t survive without accepting Medicare. In a lot of places in order to build a hospital you need permission from some state organization, some places call it a “certificate of need”, usually in that case they essentially demand you accept Medicaid etc or promise to provide a certain amount of indigent care.
If you did build such an exclusive facility, and say someone showed up needing care and they were refused, I’m sure the resulting sh#t storm would be awful, legally correct or not.
What you describe is essentially what they have in England with the Public Health Service, and private hospitals. Anyone who can afford it goes exclusively to private hospitals for their care.
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