Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act Technical Advisory Group (EMTALA TAG)

Authorization and Responsibilities

Section 945 of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 required the Secretary to establish a Technical Advisory Group (henceforth called the EMTALA TAG) to advise the Secretary concerning issues related to the regulations and implementation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA, governed primarily by section 1867 of the Social Security Act and regulations found at 42 CFR 489.24). Generally, the EMTALA TAG:

• shall review the EMTALA regulations and may provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary concerning these regulations and their application to hospitals and physicians;
• shall solicit comments and recommendations from hospitals, physicians, and the public regarding implementation of such regulations; and may disseminate information concerning the application of these regulations to hospitals, physicians, and the public.

Composition of the EMTALA TAG

Section 945 of the MMA also specified that the EMTALA TAG shall be composed of 19 members, including the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), in addition to the number and type of individuals specified in each of the following categories:

• Four representatives of hospitals, including at least one public hospital, that have experience with the application of EMTALA and, at least, two hospitals that have not been cited for EMTALA violations;
• Seven practicing physicians drawn from the fields of emergency medicine, cardiology or cardio thoracic surgery, orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatrics or a pediatric subspecialty, obstetrics-gynecology and psychiatry, with not more than one physician from any particular field;
• Two representatives of patients;
• Two staff persons involved in EMTALA investigations from different CMS regional offices;
• One representative from a State survey agency involved in EMTALA investigations and one representative from a Quality Improvement Organization, both of whom shall be from areas other than the regions represented by the CMS regional offices.

The EMTALA TAG's charter expired on September 30, 2007.

Federal Register Notices:

The Federal Register Notices files are located in a zip file in the Downloads section below .

• CMS-1481-N - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting May 1, 2006 Through May 2, 2006
• CMS-1269-N7 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG): Announcement of a New Member
• CMS–1269–N6 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG): Announcement of a New Member
• CMS–1269–N5 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting—October 26, 2005 Through October 28, 2005
• CMS–1269–N4 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting June 15, 2005 Through June 17, 2005
• CMS–1269–N3 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting and Announcement of Members (3/15/2005)
• CMS–1269–N2 - Medicare Program; Second Request for Nominations for Two Specific Categories of Members of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG)
• CMS–1269–N - Medicare Program; Establishment of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) and Request for Nominations for Members
• E6-15996 - Medicare Program; Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Meeting—November 2–3, 2006

Meeting Reports:

All meeting reports are located in the Downloads section below.