The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) is the federal "anti-dumping law" that ensures that emergency care is provided to anyone who needs it, regardless of their insurance or ability to pay. The law is designed to prevent hospitals from refusing to treat patients or transferring them to charity hospitals or county hospitals because they are unable to pay or are covered under Medicare or Medicaid programs. Under this law, patients are not treated differently for any reason other than their medical conditions.

Hospitals with emergency departments that participate in the Medicare program must provide a medical screening examination to determine whether an emergency medical condition exists. If the medical screening examination is appropriate and does not reveal an emergency medical condition, the hospital has no further obligations.

Where an emergency medical condition exists, the hospital must either provide treatment until the patient is stabilized, or if they do not have the capability, transfer the patient to another hospital according to EMTALA provisions.

An emergency medical condition is defined as "a condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the individual's health (or the health of an unborn child) in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of bodily organs."

If a transfer is made, it must be appropriate: the transferring hospital must provide the care it can, minimize transfer risks, and provide copies of medical records. The receiving facility must have available space and qualified personnel and agree to accept the transfer. The transfer must be made by qualified personnel with necessary equipment. Receiving hospitals with specialized capabilities, such as burn units or neonatal intensive care units, are obligated to accept transfers if they have the capacity to treat them.

Care can not be delayed by questions about methods of payment or insurance coverage. In addition, a managed health care plan can not deny a hospital permission to provide treatment, only state what it will or will not pay for. Although hospitals are required by law to provide emergency care for any patient who requests medical assistance, insurance companies are not required to pay.

A hospital is required to follow EMTALA policy for any patient who is physically on its premises, including, in some situations, off-site locations such as hospital-owned ambulances and outpatient clinics.