Written by Andrew R. Jones, Asheville Watchdog.
Asheville’s Mission Hospital has violated the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA), the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services told the hospital’s CEO on Thursday, again threatening to withdraw the system’s federal funding, according to a letter obtained by Asheville Watchdog.
EMTALA ensures public access to emergency services regardless of ability to pay. It requires Medicare-participating hospitals to provide a medical screening when a request is made for examination or treatment for an emergency condition, according to CMS.
The letter from CMS to Chad Patrick, CEO of HCA Healthcare-owned Mission, said the hospital failed to comply with federal standards on medical screening exams. The violations stem from an investigation conducted by state and federal surveyors in November, according to the CMS letter. The details of the violations have not been made public yet by CMS.
Mission must submit a plan of correction for the EMTALA violations by March 24, according to the CMS letter.
“Unless Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center has achieved substantial compliance within 90 days (June 5, 2024) of the date of this notice, the Medicare provider agreement between Memorial Mission Hospital and Asheville Surgery Center and the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services may be terminated,” CMS said in the letter.
The 90-day notice was “an expected part of this process,” Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said Friday, “and means that specific elements of our approved plan of correction will also be examined and re-surveyed in tandem with the revisit to ensure that this EMTALA finding has been addressed.”
“As we continue to state, we take these matters very seriously and have made significant process changes to improve our patient care experience,” she said.
EMTALA violations, which are sometimes called “patient dumping,” are considered extremely serious.
Earlier this month, UNC Health Chatham Hospital in Siler City, NC, about 200 miles east of Asheville, entered into a $49,000 settlement agreement with federal Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to resolve an allegation that Chatham violated the EMTALA.
In the Chatham case, a 62-year-old patient experiencing cardiac problems was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but was turned away in the ambulance bay without a proper medical screening exam by the hospital. According to the OIG report, a nursing employee told the ambulance crew that the hospital did not have a cardiologist available to see the patient.
EMTALA fines can reach $100,000 per violation, and hospitals may be held liable for civil lawsuits, either from patients or from transferring or receiving hospitals.
This is the second and simultaneous threat to Mission’s federal funding. The hospital still faces compliance issues centered on numerous deficiencies, which also have to be fixed by June 5. CMS approved Mission’s plan of correction for these deficiencies.
“This letter addresses the last of the violations stemming from our November-December 2023 onsite work to investigate roughly 90 separate complaints,” Chief Deputy Secretary for Health Mark Benton said in an email about the letter.
Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Andrew R. Jones is a Watchdog investigative reporter. Email [email protected]. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/donate.