Press Releases
CMS ADVISORY GROUP ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT AND LABOR ACT RESPONSIBILITIES TO HOLD FIRST MEETING
CMS ADVISORY GROUP ON EMERGENCY MEDICAL TREATMENT AND LABOR ACT RESPONSIBILITIES TO HOLD FIRST MEETING
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced the appointment of a new technical advisory group (TAG) that will review regulations affecting hospital and physician responsibilities under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) to individuals who come to the hospital seeking treatment for a medical condition. The TAG, which was required by the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), is charged with helping CMS develop rules that will protect individual rights while minimizing unnecessary burdens on health care providers.
EMTALA, which was enacted by Congress in 1986, requires hospitals with emergency rooms to provide an appropriate medical screening when a person comes to the hospital and requests treatment for a medical condition. If an emergency medical condition is detected, the hospital must either stabilize the individual or transfer him or her to another facility. The law specifically extends its protection to women who come to the hospital in labor.
“The panel members I am announcing today are distinguished in their fields of expertise and have practical experience with the EMTALA regulations,” said CMS Administrator Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D. “I look forward to receiving their input on ways we can improve EMTALA policies to continue to protect individuals who come to the hospital seeking treatment for an emergency condition, while relieving unnecessary burdens on the hospitals and physicians who care for them.”
The advisory group, which will meet at least twice a year, consists of 19 members as specified in the MMA. Included among the 19 are the Administrator of CMS, the agency that has primary responsibility for investigating EMTALA complaints, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (OIG), which is authorized to impose sanctions on violators. The other 17 members have been appointed by the HHS Secretary from nominations submitted by interested groups and individuals.
The MMA requires that four members be representatives of hospitals, at least one of which must be a public hospital, and that seven members be practicing physicians drawn from the fields of emergency medicine, cardiology or cardio-thoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty, obstetrics-gynecology, and psychiatry. In addition, the TAG must have two patient representatives, two CMS regional office staff who have been involved with EMTALA investigations, one state survey agency representative, and one representative from a Quality Improvement Organization which is responsible for reviewing EMTALA cases involving questions of medical judgment. A list of the members of the EMTALA TAG is attached.
The TAG will hold its first meeting on March 30-31, 2005. More details will be published in a notice in the March 15 Federal Register. For more information, see http://www.cms.hhs.gov/providers/emtala/default.asp
# # #
ROSTER
EMERGENCY TREATMENT AND LABOR ACT
TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP (alphabetical order)
Cesar A. Aristeiguieta, M.D.
Emergency Physician and Medical Director
LA County Paramedic Training Institute
Los Angeles , CA
Carol L. Bayer, M.D.
Psychiatrist and VP for Medical Affairs
East Jefferson General Hospital
Metairie , LA
James L. Biddle, M.D.
Obstetrician/Gynecologist
McAllen , TX
Azzie Conley, R.N.
Assistant Section Chief for Acute Care
NC State Survey Agency
Raleigh , NC
Warren A. Jones, M.D.
Physician and Executive Director
MS State Medicaid Director
Jackson , MS
Gretchen A. Kane
Health Quality Review Specialist and
EMTALA Coordinator,
CMS Region IX
San Francisco , CA
John A. Kusske, M.D.
Neurosurgeon and Chair, Dept. of Neurological Surgeons
UCI Medical Center
Orange , CA
Daniel Levinson
Acting Inspector General
Department of Health and Human Services
Washington , D.C.
(Alternate: Gregory Demske)
Dr. Mark B. McClellan
Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services
Baltimore , MD
(Alternate: Leslie Norwalk)
Julie Mathis Nelson, J.D.
Attorney and Partner
Coppersmith Gordon Schermer Owens & Nelson, P.L.C.
Phoenix , AZ
James Nepola, M.D.
Orthopedic Trauma Surgeon
Chair, Orthopedic Trauma Association
Iowa City , IA
Mark Pearlmutter, M.D.
Emergency and Internal Medicine
Chief, Dept. of Emergency Medicine
St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center
Boston , MA
Carlos Perez
Senior VP/Executive Director
South Manhattan Healthcare Network
New York , N.Y.
Richard Perry, M.D.
Surgeon and Physician
Phoenix , AZ
Brian Robinson
President and Chief Executive Officer
HCA Las Vegas Market
Las Vegas , NV
Michael J. Rosenberg, M.D.
Cardiologist and Interventional Cardiologist
Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine
Park Ridge , IL
David Siegel M.D., J.D.
Emergency and Internal Medicine Physician
Senior Physician Consultant and Clinical Coordinator
Florida Medical Quality Assurance (Quality
Improvement Organization)
Tampa , FL
David W. Tuggle, M.D.
Pediatric Surgeon and Vice Chair
Department of Surgery
University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Oklahoma City , OK
Charlotte S. Yeh, M.D.
Emergency Physician
CMS Regional Administrator, Region I
Boston , MA