2019 Oregon Revised Statutes
Volume : 12 - Public Health
Chapter 441 - Health Care Facilities
Section 441.094 - Denial of emergency medical services because of inability to pay prohibited.
(1) No officer or employee of a hospital licensed by the Oregon Health Authority that has an emergency department may deny to a person an appropriate medical screening examination within the capability of the emergency department, including ancillary services routinely available to the emergency department, to determine whether a need for emergency medical services exists.
(2) No officer or employee of a hospital licensed by the authority may deny to a person diagnosed by an admitting physician as being in need of emergency medical services the emergency medical services customarily provided at the hospital because the person is unable to establish the ability to pay for the services.
(3) Nothing in this section is intended to relieve a person of the obligation to pay for services provided by a hospital.
(4) A hospital that does not have physician services available at the time of the emergency shall not be in violation of this section if, after a reasonable good faith effort, a physician is unable to provide or delegate the provision of emergency medical services.
(5) All coordinated care organization contracts executed by the authority and private health maintenance organizations and managed care organizations shall include a provision that encourages the organization to establish agreements with hospitals in the organization’s service area for payment of emergency screening examinations.
(6) As used in subsections (1) and (2) of this section, "emergency medical services" means medical services that are usually and customarily available at the respective hospital and that must be provided immediately to sustain a person’s life, to prevent serious permanent disfigurement or loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ, or to provide care of a woman in her labor where delivery is imminent if the hospital is so equipped and, if the hospital is not equipped, to provide necessary treatment to allow the woman to travel to a more appropriate facility without undue risk of serious harm. [1987 c.386 §1; 1995 c.449 §2; 2009 c.595 §732; 2011 c.602 §53]
Note: 441.094 was enacted into law by the Legislative Assembly but was not added to or made a part of ORS chapter 441 or any series therein by legislative action. See Preface to Oregon Revised Statutes for further explanation.
