Valley hospitals mum on Abbott’s citizenship question mandate

Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order that requires hospitals across Texas to ask patients for their citizenship status officially went into effect as of Nov. 1, but with a single exception Rio Grande Valley hospital systems have remained largely mum about its implementation locally.

Abbott said in an Aug. 8 statement that he believes the state should be financially reimbursed by the federal government for the medical care afforded to people illegally in the country.

As of the beginning of November, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is now directing hospitals and other providers in Texas to collect information on those costs.

In Abbott’s executive order, the term “hospitals” also refers to acute care hospitals enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as well as other providers identified by the HHSC.

HOW IT WORKS

Texas hospitals must collect information about patients in the country illegally by asking for their citizenship status, and to include the number of inpatient discharges and emergency visits for these patients as well as the cost of care.

Hospitals are further required to inform the patient that their response does not affect their care. Patients also do not have to answer the question about their citizenship.

The data will be reported to the HHSC on a quarterly basis with the initial submission due on March 1, 2025.

Abbott is directing HHSC to then report the data to the offices of the governor, lieutenant governor and to the speaker of the House.

In this undated photo, a stretcher is placed in the hallway to help move patients in the Day Surgery section at Valley Baptist Medical Center – Brownsville. (Denise Cathey | The Brownsville Herald)

WHO IS COOPERATING

South Texas Health System issued a statement confirming they’re complying with the order.

STHS said in the statement that patients “at all STHS Hospitals are asked if they are citizens of the US and whether they are lawfully present in the country, as required by the Executive Order. STHS informs patients that they have the right to withhold the information. Their responses do not and will not affect the care they receive, as required by federal law.

“STHS is committed to providing quality, compassionate care to all patients regardless of their citizenship status.”

Michael Swartz, spokesman for Prime Healthcare which owns and operates Harlingen Medical Center, Knapp Medical Center and Mission Regional Medical Center, only said that they’re working with the Texas Hospital Association to comply with the state mandate.

Attempts to gain comment from Valley Baptist Health System and DHR Health have been unsuccessful as of presstime.

WHAT TO EXPECT

In a statement, La Unión del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE, exhibited “strong” disapproval and pulled no punches in condemning the governor’s order.

“This action represents yet another in a series of dehumanizing attacks on our immigrant community and serves to further marginalize and intimidate those who are already vulnerable,” LUPE said.

Abbott, who has long been critical of the Biden administration’s handling of border security matters, adopted the rhetoric of “open border policies” being to blame for what he says are citizens footing the bill for services provided to people in the country illegally.

“Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants,” Abbott said in the Aug. 8 statement. “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.”

A sign is displayed outside a hospital in Miami, on July 9, 2020. (Wilfredo Lee/AP File Photo)

Florida enacted a similar law in 2023.

It was reported by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) that less than 1% of the people making up 5 million emergency room visits in Florida last year, where patients also do not have to respond to the citizenship question, identified as an immigrant without documentation, according to the Associated Press and Central Florida Public Media.

Citing the Florida AHCA, Central Florida Public Media has reported that although the state claims around $566 million in care was afforded in 2023 to patients in the country illegally, it does not include critical data.

Florida Policy Institute analyst Alexis Tsoukalas explained to Central Florida Public Media that the costs were attributed to expenses incurred, a term she defined as uncompensated care in which “a certain amount” is reimbursed to the state if the patient was insured or if they had paid with Medicaid or Medicare.

The only problem is that information is not recorded as part of the Florida law, nor is it included in Abbott’s mandate for Texas hospitals.

LUPE believes asking patients for their citizenship status will only deter people from seeking care.

“Governor Abbott’s directive not only undermines the fundamental principles of human dignity and compassion but also threatens the health and safety of countless individuals. By mandating the disclosure of healthcare costs for undocumented immigrants, this policy risks deterring those in critical need of medical care from seeking the help they may desperately need,” LUPE said.

“This could lead to dangerous, life-threatening outcomes for people who might avoid necessary treatment out of fear or financial concern, all coming from a man who preaches pro-life rhetoric.”

The post Valley hospitals mum on Abbott’s citizenship question mandate appeared first on MyRGV.com.