Texas Hospitals Spent $122M on Migrant Care in November

Texas hospitals tallied nearly $122 million in health care costs incurred by undocumented migrants in one month in the state's first measure of those costs. The data was collected and released in the wake of an executive order signed in August by Gov. Greg Abbott that requires hospitals to track patients "not lawfully present" in the US, reports Fox News. The first report from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (THHSC) recorded more than 31,000 hospital visits by such individuals for that month, at a total cost of $121.8 million.

The Dallas Morning News notes it's unclear how much the hospitals were paid for that care, a point Democratic Rep. Ramón Romero flagged. Hospitals were told to log the costs, not the charges, of the visits; they weren't asked to provide "revenue offsets." Romero tells the Morning News he'd like to see THHSC collect and release additional data. "Many people would like to know how much of that is being paid back," Romero said. The Texas Tribune adds that policy analysts have expressed concern that the data won't paint a full picture of the situation. For instance, left-leaning think tank Every Texan noted the November tally is likely a fraction of the costs incurred by all uninsured Texas citizens; the state's 19% uninsured rate is the nation's highest.

Abbott's order mandates that hospitals ask patients for their immigration status. They can refuse to answer, and THHSC notes that federal law requires patients be told that sharing their status will not impact their care. Indeed, the Texas Hospital Association said in a statement that the collection of this data should "not be a deterrent for people in need of care. Hospitals remain open and ready to serve Texans' acute care needs," per Fox. A bill drafted by Fort Worth Republican Rep. Mike Olcott would make Abbott's executive order a state law. (This content was created with the help of AI. Read our AI policy.)