§2113.6. Emergency diagnoses and services; denial for inability to pay; discriminatory practices

A.(1) No officer, employee, or member of the medical staff of a hospital licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health shall deny emergency services available at the hospital to a person diagnosed by a licensed physician as requiring emergency services because the person is unable to establish his ability to pay for the services or because of race, religion, or national ancestry. In addition, the person needing the services shall not be subjected by any such person to arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable discrimination based on age, sex, physical condition, or economic status.

(2) This Section shall not prohibit or apply to any action taken by a hospital, officer, employee, member of the medical staff, or physician which substantially complies with applicable federal law or regulation.

B. No officer, employee, or member of the medical staff of a hospital licensed by the Louisiana Department of Health shall deny a person in need of emergency services access to diagnosis by a licensed physician on the staff of the hospital because the person is unable to establish his ability to pay for the services or because of race, religion, or national ancestry. In addition, the person needing the services shall not be subjected by any such person to arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable discrimination based on age, sex, physical condition, or economic status.

C. "Emergency services" means services that are usually and customarily available at the respective hospital and that must be provided immediately to stabilize a medical condition which, if not stabilized, could reasonably be expected to result in the loss of the person's life, serious permanent disfigurement or loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ, or which is necessary to provide for the care of a woman in active labor if the hospital is so equipped and, if the hospital is not so equipped, to provide necessary treatment to allow the woman to travel to a more appropriate facility without undue risk of serious harm.

D. No hospital or any officer or employee who makes a good faith effort to comply with the provisions of this Section shall be found in violation of this Section for the failure of another officer, employee, or member of the medical staff or physician to provide or delegate the provision of medical services or diagnosis as required by this Section.

E. Each hospital to which this Section applies shall provide written notice of the provisions of this Section to all officers, employees, and members of the medical staff, and other appropriate personnel who have duties related to access to and delivery of emergency services.

F. An officer, employee, or member of the medical staff of a hospital who intentionally or recklessly violates the provisions of this Section may be subject to a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and may be suspended from the state medical assistance program. Subsequent intentional or reckless violations shall be punishable by a fine of five thousand dollars and termination of participation in the state medical assistance program. For the purposes of this Section, any violation occurring more than six months after the last such violation shall not be considered a subsequent violation.

Acts 1986, No. 998, §1.