This policy applies to all persons residing (regardless of legal status) in the U.S. and any of its territories as well as the District of Columbia who require medical screening examinations as outlined in the act or treatment for an emergency medical condition.
This act was a win for all individuals in EMS as no EMT, nurse, or doctor would have to send a patient in critical need away because there was no one to foot the bill. This was a horrible position that put medical workers in the position of moral culpability for policy formed by higher-ups who never had to deal with the reality of their decisions.
The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act was drafted by congress in 1985 as part of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) of 1985 which is a larger healthcare and social security law. The law passed in 1986.
It was well received in large when it was signed into law by President Ronald Regan in 1986. The need, benefits, and issues brought about that. The only negative was the potential to cheap the system and steal from hospitals by those who are able to pay but don’t. This issue is not really a major issue because patients still get billed and there are still repercussions for not paying bills but if the need for urgent care is real it could save your life; however about 6% of hospital services are never paid for, thus not completely an unreal threat.
The Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) goal is to guarantee everyone access to emergency care at hospitals (Medicare, Health & Human Services, or CMS participating ones) regardless of ability for the patient to pay for the services or not. This was aimed to open up equal access to critical treatment regardless of class, social standing, or wealth.
Those that cannot pay for healthcare services (or are suspected to not be able to) are the most vulnerable population as they can literally die because of their social standing getting in the way of care and treatment.
It matters to public health greatly because without it, hospitals could refuse to provide critical treatment until they were satisfied that the patient could pay, which can result in death from delay or refusal of care.
While most hospitals would provide stabilizing, lifesaving treatment to those that needed it, there were some that did not. This act really helps the good hospitals (the majority of them) that were already doing what this policy made law, but there were enough instances and examples of hospitals that were not, so the legislature acted. It is also important to note that this act was part of a larger bill (COBRA) that dealt with national healthcare and social security policy.