Texas hospitals spent $121.8M treating people in U.S. illegally last November, report shows
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Texas hospitals to start asking about citizenship
Hospitals across the state will be required to collect information about how much it costs to care for uninsured, undocumented immigrants. FOX 4's Steven Dial takes a look at how that information will be used.
AUSTIN - A new report from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission shows that Texas hospitals spent more than $100 million in health care costs treating people who were in the country illegally in November 2024.
The data comes after Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order in August 2024 requiring hospitals to collect information "patients who are not lawfully present in the United States."
Hospitals were required to begin collecting information on Nov. 1, 2024, and report the data to Texas Health and Human Services by March 1, 2025.
Texas Health and Human Services report on patients in U.S. illegally
By the numbers:
According to the report, people in the country illegally visited Texas hospitals 31,012 in November 2024.
The overall cost to Texas hospitals was $121,779,579.
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What they're saying:
"Texas hospitals will continue to comply and record information per the executive order. The fact that hospitals are required to collect this data should not be a deterrent for people in need of care. Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans’ acute care needs," wrote the Texas Hospital Association in a statement.
Texas House Committee on Public Health Hearing
FILE - Stock image of an empty hospital bed. (FOX TV Stations)
What they're saying:
Last week, the House Committee on Public Health heard testimony about Fort Worth Republican Rep. Mike Olcott's bill that would make Abbott's executive order a law.
Victoria Grady, Texas Health and Human Services Commission director of provider finance, said the bill would help provide clarity to hospitals about how and what data to submit.
"We don't currently require them to only submit it to us electronically," Grady said. "We've received some submissions by some hospitals by mail so we're retyping the numbers that they've sent us in our spreadsheets, and we'd really like to get it electronically."
Grady said 558 of the 600 hospitals that were required to send in their data met the March 1 deadline.
Olcott said the bill would help in understanding the percentage of uncompensated care that goes to those who did not enter the country legally.
"Small rural hospitals are struggling financially," Olcott said. "Is it all because of illegal immigrants? No. How much of it is because of that? I don't know the answer to that."
Olcott said 181 rural hospitals have closed since 2005.
The other side:
Immigrant rights advocate Priscilla Lugo argued that the bill harms human trafficking victims. She said that 28% of human trafficking victims are seen for medical while they are being trafficked.
"Texas should never be a place where an abused person cannot walk into a hospital and get the care and intervention they need," Lugo said.
Olcott said there was no immigration enforcement included with the bill.
"I want to emphasize there's not one single element of immigration enforcement in this bill," Olcott said.
Uninsured in Texas
The Texas Hospital Association estimates around one in six Texans does not have health insurance. That works out to around 17% of Texans who do not have medical coverage. Well above the U.S. average of 8%.
In 2023, THA said $3.1 billion in medical care was not reimbursed.
Olcott's bill was left pending in committee.
The Source: Information in this article comes from a Texas Health and Human Services report released on April 25. Background on the bill to make Governor Abbott's executive order law comes from an Aprill 22 hearing in the Texas Committee on Public Health.