Governor Greg Abbott has issued an Executive Order directing the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to begin collecting and reporting data on healthcare costs for undocumented immigrants who receive inpatient and emergency care at Texas public hospitals.
The move aims to document the financial impact on the state’s healthcare system and seek reimbursement from the federal government.
“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.”
Under the Executive Order, the HHSC will instruct hospitals and other identified healthcare providers to gather information regarding the costs of treating undocumented immigrants.
The process will start by November 1, 2024, with hospitals required to submit this data to the HHSC quarterly.
The first round of submissions is due by March 1, 2025.
Hospitals will be required to inform patients that their responses to inquiries about their immigration status will not affect the care they receive.
Starting January 1, 2026, the HHSC will report annually to the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives on the previous year’s healthcare costs for undocumented immigrants.
The goal of this reporting is to provide the State of Texas with detailed financial data that can be used to request reimbursement from the federal government, which Governor Abbott attributes to the policies of the Biden-Harris Administration.