Texas Gov. Abbott instructs hospitals to collect data on patients' immigration status [View all]
Source: CBS News
Updated on: August 8, 2024 / 10:34 PM EDT
Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered hospitals in the Lone Star State to ask patients about their immigration status in order to ascertain the costs of providing medical care to people living in the U.S. illegally.
Through an executive order, Abbott directed Texas hospitals to compile data on inpatient discharges and emergency visits by immigrants living in the U.S. without authorization, as well as on the costs of providing medical services to this population.
Abbott instructed the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to require hospitals to start collecting the information on Nov. 1 and to provide regular reports to state authorities.
The order applies to hospitals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children Health Insurance Program, as well as other health care centers identified by the commission. To justify the move, Abbott cited the record levels of migrant apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years, claiming that Texas was shouldering the economic burden of providing medical services to migrants entering the country illegally.
Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-gov-abbott-hospitals-patients-immigration-status-data/
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