[chronic_loser]

Here ya go, peruse this link then come back and let us know what you find.
http://www.hschange.com/CONTENT/312/
Under federal law, patients who walk into an ER cannot be turned away.

I have a site that says the CIA killed Kennedy, too. Statutes here were missing, and whoever wrote this simply did not know what they were talking about. The ONLY thing a hospital is required to do is determine whether the patient is truly an emergency room candidate. If not, they can be told to seek care elsewhwere.

[azhenfud]

"The ONLY thing a hospital is required to do is determine whether the patient is truly an emergency room candidate. If not, they can be told to seek care elsewhwere."

That might be so, but 99% of the time they'll declare all cases as emergencies, just of differing priorities rather than run the "risk" of miscalculating a "situation". It all comes down to the ease of spending taxpayer funds. IOW, who on the hospital staff will have the testicular fortitude to make that determination of the gravity of a particular case especially when the choice will be between the ease of spending taxpayer funds and their job, and potentially litigation, if they're wrong?