 The 1986 Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) was meant to regulate Medicare-participating hospitals and ensure that patients received appropriate medical treatment regardless of their ability to pay.Some scholars described how EMTALA provided a means to take legal action against healthcare providers and hospitals that did not comply, and provided examples of cases in Florida, California, and North Carolina.Even though hospitals have had to pay penalties, patient dumping remained an issue throughout the country.