The
Connecticut Court of Appeals upheld the department of social services' determination
that hospital in-patient chemotherapy treatment of an undocumented alien diagnosed
with acute myelogenous leukemia does not constitute treatment of an emergency
medical condition entitling the hospital to Medicaid reimbursement for the
treatment cost. In determining whether the patient suffered from an emergency
medical condition, the legal standard employed by the hearing officer must
emphasize the severity, temporality and urgency of the medical condition. The
court found that the department of social services' findings satisfied the
substantial evidence test where the record indicated the patient had symptoms
for two weeks prior to presenting to the emergency room and a history of prior
weight loss. The record did not reveal that the patient's life would have been
in serious jeopardy if he were admitted for treatment at a later time and the
court found this to be essentially a hospital
admission to initiate chemotherapy.