EMTALA Claim Survives Following Private Vehicle Transfer of Patient Who Previously Had Attempted Suicide
The United States District Court for the District of Utah refused to dismiss the EMTALA claims brought by a patient who had been treated at the hospital for a suicide attempt. The patient was transferred to the ICU for observation. The next day, the hospital arranged for the patient to be transferred to an inpatient psychiatric facility. The patient’s family requested that the transfer be by private vehicle. During the transport, the patient jumped out of the car and sustained life-threatening injuries. The court refused to dismiss the EMTALA claims finding that it was not clear if the patient was in observation status or an inpatient. The court also found there were questions of fact as to whether the patient’s condition had been stabilized prior to the transfer. Harmon v. Uintah Basin Med. Ctr.
Hospital Fails in Effort to Sue the State for Prompt Medicaid Payments from MCOs
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the dismissal of a hospital’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the state for late Medicaid payments by MCOs. The court found the statute did not create an enforceable right in healthcare providers. Saint Anthony Hosp. v. Whitehorn