Gov. Greg Abbott has announced a new executive order requiring hospitals in Texas to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal aliens.
In announcing the order, Abbott put the blame of the border crisis at the feet of the Biden-Harris administration.
“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state,” said Abbott. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants. That is why today I issued an Executive Order requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state. Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”
In 2021, Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed that Texans pay an average of about $152 million a year to house illegal aliens, between $62 million and $90 million to include illegals in Texas’ emergency Medicaid program, and between $579 million and $717 million for hospitals to provide uncompensated medical care.
New required reporting, however, aims to collect more accurate data.
According to a release from Abbott’s office, the Health and Human Services Commission will immediately begin to do the following:
- Direct hospitals and additional identified providers to collect information regarding the cost of medical care provided to illegal immigrants, beginning by November 1, 2024.
- Direct covered hospitals to report such data to HHSC quarterly, with initial submissions due March 1, 2025.
- Direct those hospitals to inform the patient that federal law mandates that any response to such questions will not affect patient care.
- Report annually, beginning on January 1, 2026, to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the House on the preceding year’s costs for medical care provided to illegal immigrants.
The full executive order can be read here.
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