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Maryland subcommittee reviews bill to codify EMTALA protections for pregnancy-related emergencies; motion withdrawn pending AG opinion
Summary
The subcommittee examined Senate Bill 447 to codify EMTALA protections for emergency pregnancy-related medical conditions, including a requirement that hospitals stabilize patients and provide termination of pregnancy when medically necessary; members requested an attorney general opinion and the motion to move the bill was withdrawn, with no vote taken.
The Public Health and Minority Health Disparities Subcommittee of the Health and Government Operations Committee considered Senate Bill 447 on emergency pregnancy-related medical conditions, which would codify aspects of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) for Maryland hospitals with emergency departments and require hospitals to stabilize patients "including the termination of a pregnancy when the termination is medically necessary to stabilize the patient," a staff briefing said.
Supporters and presenters said the bill seeks to provide clarity because federal enforcement of EMTALA's pregnancy provisions has been uneven. Erin, the staff briefing presenter, outlined the bill’s definitions and stabilizing standard and told the subcommittee the measure limits the state law to emergency pregnancy-related conditions and ties transfers for unstabilized patients to federal EMTALA transfer rules (42 U.S.C. 1395dd).
"The bill provides that it only applies to hospitals with emergency…
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