Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) 2009 Final Rule Revisions to EMTALA Regulations

The Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 IPPS final rule included EMTALA revisions, effective October 1, 2008. The regulatory provisions have been revised and reorganized. Key changes include introduction of a shared community call (CCP) plan option and elimination of ambiguous language concerning on-call list criteria. Technical corrections were made to track the statutory language. A hospital with specialized capabilities is not required under EMTALA to accept the transfer of a hospital inpatient who presented to the admitting hospital under EMTALA. The Interpretative Guidelines in the State Operations Manual Appendix V that correspond to these changes are attached.