Starting tomorrow, all hospitals in Texas will be required to collect and report the healthcare costs of illegal aliens.
This comes after an executive order issued by Gov. Greg Abbott in August directing the Health and Human Services Commission 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.
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.
“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,” Abbott said in August after issuing the executive order. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.”
