EMTALA stands for Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act and was passed in 1986 to guarantee the public has access to emergency services irrespective of the ability to pay. The main reason for its implementation is section 1867 of the Social Security Act. This part imposes concise requirements on any Medicare-participating hospitals that provide MSE/emergency services. Before EMTALA, people were turned down for medical treatment if they could not pay, resulting in death and health complications.
The main reason for passing the law was healthcare dumping which was as previously mentioned, ridding the hospital of patients unable to pay for emergency care. The other two, lesser known reasons were "the impact of the 1983 Medicare prospective payment system" and "some hospitals were no longer obligated to provide indigent care under the Hill-Burton Act" (Fried, 2011). The act made treating low-income and uninsured people no longer mandatory for hospitals to receive funding. Therefore, the incentive for hospitals to take care of patients with no insurance or low-income was low. Coupled with the fear of Medicare not providing enough services, the United States government decided to act with one of the laws main proponents, Edward Kennedy arguing for its passing.
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PAS or
This is because it is an indirect way for a physician to help a patient take his or her life. However, because the patient needs to ask for a prescription, then take the prescription, theory suggests it may not be as unethical as believed. Utilitarian theory serves as the main theoretical framework from which to understand the possible ethical standpoint of PAS. Per utilitarian theory, it is ethically fitting for an individual to do the right action/act to yield the greatest good.
Right acts within the context of PAS, right actions result in a greater level of happiness instead of unhappiness. This means by relieving the suffering of the terminally ill patient, the physician is performing an ethical, right action. "...those who are ill and suffering, and wish to end their lives, will have their desires satisfied, and be able to end both their physical pain, and their psychological frustration and helplessness" (Smits, 2016, p. 146). The intention of ending someone's life then turns into an effort to maximize happiness and minimize suffering. Within this meaning, PAS is an ethical means of helping a patient who is suffering immensely.
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The Hispanic population has grown…
