Your money or your life: 'dumping' uninsured patients from hospital emergency wards.

Annas argues that current public policy that emphasizes cost over quality of care and equity of access is an effort to medical care from a social good to an economic good. This trend to erode the community ethic of providing emergency care to all of ability to pay. The author cites statistics and cases that a trend by hospitals to deny emergency care or to transfer medically patients for economic reasons. Courts have upheld the right to treatment and physicians, who determine what is an emergency, are to oppose hospital policies that compromise patient care and to reaffirm ethical stance. The author concludes that state regulations should emergency broadly, develop "emergency transfer protocols," and provide sanctions against institutions and personnel that violate them. (KIE)