It is widely believed that Medicaid is a voluntary program. While this may have once been true, it is no longer the case. Today, states confront the dilemma of having to choose between joining Medicaid or being forced to sacrifice any health care “safety net” for their indigent populations. This is all because of a law enacted by Congress in 1986 called the Emergency Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).

In 1986, Congress passed EMTALA, making it a federal crime to transfer a patient from one hospital/emergency room to another for financial reasons. It compels hospitals to render care, even without any compensation.

EMTALA led to an explosion in uncompensated care. It became common knowledge that, if a person presents to a hospital emergency department, the hospital must provide care and may not transfer the patient elsewhere without the patient’s permission. This became a major cause of “cost-shifting,” as hospitals and doctors tried to recoup their losses from uncompensated care by raising their fees on insured patients.