More than 100,000 patients who visited hospitals in Texas between last November and February of this year admitted they were illegal migrants, according to state data.
The data was gathered after Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law last year requiring hospitals to ask registering patients if they are a legal U.S. resident.
According to KXAN-TV, by the end of February, 108,581 patients admitted to being illegal aliens — about 2.3 percent of all patients.
This number, though, is obviously not complete. The law does not require patients to answer the question, and 12.9 percent — or 617,000 patients — refused to answer. Government officials feel that most of that number are also illegals who simply refused to reveal their citizenship status to hospital registrars.
The Lone Star State’s Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) reports that based on the data collected, the state spent $434 million to care for illegals over the reporting period. Again, that number is probably low considering how many patients refused to answer the citizenship question.
The requirement is aimed at helping officials put a price tag on the impact illegal aliens have on the state’s healthcare system.
“Texans should NOT have to foot the bill for illegal immigrants’ healthcare. I issued an Executive Order directing HHSC to collect & report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants. We’ll fight to ensure the Biden-Harris Admin pays back Texas for their costly open border policies,” Abbott wrote about the bill last year.
Another factor that makes the data set incomplete is the 140 hospitals that have still not fulfilled their reporting duties as set by the new law. The HHSC notes that 22.9 percent of the state’s hospitals are not in compliance and are still not properly reporting their data.
Gov. Abbott’s office still celebrated the results for showing the financial impact of illegals on the state’s healthcare system.
“Now, Texas has reliable data on the dramatic financial impact that illegal immigration is having on our hospital system,” Gov. Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said. “Because of President Trump’s swift action in securing the southern border, illegal crossings have dropped to record lows. Texas is hopeful that his efforts to remove those who entered unlawfully may also cause these healthcare costs to decline.”
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the nation at 17%, KXAN added. And in 2023, the state’s hospitals shelled out $8.1 billion in “charity care” for the uninsured.
The Lone Star State is one of two states with such hospital reporting rules. Florida has a similar law requiring hospitals to report the number of illegal aliens who have sought medical care in the state’s hospitals. Early this year, Florida officials reported that illegal aliens have incurred $660 million in unpaid hospital bills.
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