The Texas Hospital Association said in an email to its members that private providers may be subject to Governor Greg Abbott’s executive order directing hospitals to collect information on undocumented immigrants.
Abbott issued an executive order on Thursday requiring Texas hospitals to count the number of undocumented patients they have and report the cost of their care to the state Department of Health.
His announcement referred to people who use “public hospitals in Texas for inpatient and emergency care” — but the order applies to all hospitals enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP. The Texas Hospital Association clarified in an email to members that the order is not limited to public hospitals, according to a copy obtained by El Paso Matters on Tuesday.
“THA is aware that there is some confusion about which hospitals must comply with the order, how data and immigration status will be requested/collected, and how the order will be aligned with privacy requirements and legal requirements for hospitals to examine and stabilize individuals,” the email, dated Friday, August 9, said.
The association’s members include the private locations of Las Palmas del Sol Healthcare and The Hospitals of Providence, which accept Medicaid insurance, as well as the state-run University Medical Center of El Paso and its affiliate, El Paso Children’s Hospital.
“We will review it (the order) with our team to fully understand its impact and requirements,” UMC spokesman Ryan Mielke said last week.
El Paso Matters reached out to Providence and Las Palmas del Sol hospitals for further comment on Tuesday, but officials there did not respond.
Jennifer Ruffcorn, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, told El Paso Matters on Friday that the state will provide guidelines to hospitals in the coming weeks.
In addition to hospitals enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, the executive order also applies to “other health care providers designated by the Health and Human Services Commission.”
El Paso Matters asked the state last week who those additional providers were. Ruffcorn referred the news organization to the governor’s office. Eduardo Leal, a spokesman for Abbott, did not answer the question and instead sent a link to the executive order.
El Paso Matters reported on Thursday on immigrant rights activists’ concerns about the hospital order.
The Texas Hospital Association released a statement Thursday: “Currently, hospitals do not ask about patients’ immigration status as a condition of treatment. Hospitals are required by law to provide life-saving treatment to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay or status.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
