Texas leaders concerned about Abbott’s executive order on migrant health care – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

Community leaders and civil rights advocates are expressing concern over an executive order issued Thursday by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

If the order survives anticipated legal challenges, it would require all Texas public hospitals to begin collecting and releasing reports on undocumented patients in their care.

The governor blames the Biden administration and the rise in illegal border crossings over the past four years for the actions taken, although illegal border crossings are now down from record highs.

Advocates are urging concerned migrants to continue to seek necessary medical care without fear of deportation.

Governor Abbott’s executive order states that “the State of Texas is covering a significant portion of the costs associated with providing health care to individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States” and that “Texans ultimately bear the associated costs in the form of higher taxes.”

Texas healthcare providers are currently rapidly reviewing Executive Order GA-46, which states that “increased expenditures by Texas hospitals providing medical care to persons who are not lawfully present in the United States impose a burden on the Texas healthcare system, including through predictable increases in the cost of medical care for all Texans.”

Guadalupe Medical in Dallas, which is not affected by the executive order, shared its thoughts on how the order could impact migrants.

“People who are undocumented are afraid that if they go to the hospital, they will be notified or they will be harassed for going to the hospital because they are undocumented,” Dr. Marcial Oquendo, a physician at Guadalupe Medical Clinic. “But the purpose of this is to be able to record the costs associated with having to care for people who are undocumented, because the money has to come from somewhere, usually from taxpayers.”

Oquendo is appealing to anyone with a medical emergency to go to a hospital, regardless of immigration status.

Currently, hospitals do not ask about a patient’s status as a condition of treatment, and federal law requires everyone, regardless of immigration status, to receive life-saving treatment.

Governor Abbott’s Executive Order Orders Texas public hospitals begin collecting data on the number of hospital discharges and emergency room visits involving undocumented people, as well as the costs of caring for them, starting November 1.

Affected hospitals were also required to inform patients that the information collected would not impact their care.

Abbott asked hospital leaders to submit a quarterly report to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services and an annual report to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives by March 2025.

The term “hospitals” includes acute care hospitals covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and any additional providers designated by the Health and Human Services Commission, as specified by order.

The governor’s decision was met with sharp criticism, including from Rene Martinez, president of LULAC-100.

“It’s very, very hypocritical that the governor is spending billions, not millions, billions of dollars on the border response,” Martinez said.

The longtime Dallas civil rights leader cites a recent Cato Institute study on the fiscal impact of immigration in the U.S. from 1997 to 2017, which found that “with some exceptions and variations, the net fiscal impact of immigrants is more positive than that of native-born Americans, and is generally positive for federal and state/local governments.”

“The data I’ve seen before, that undocumented people who get into a pay plan start paying what they owe in Parkland,” Martinez said. “They don’t pay it all at once, they pay it over a period of time, but they pay their bills, compared to U.S. citizens who have a worse history of paying their debts.”

Martinez and Dallas County Commissioner Elba Garcia say the ordinance is simply a hate-filled political tactic designed to sow division and fear in an election year.

“Imagine a community without health, without education, without services,” Garcia said. “What will you have, women without prenatal care? What will you have, students who are sick and out of school? What will you have, our elderly without any care?”

According to Garcia, Parkland Hospital, a public county hospital, does not currently provide commissioners with a breakdown of such costs “because it is HIPAA protected information.”

Garcia’s advice: “Don’t be afraid. This will be in court, and more importantly, we in Dallas County care about our people, we care about the health of our community.”

A Parkland spokesperson referred NBC 5 questions to HHS and the governor’s office.

The Texas Hospital Association in Austin told NBC 5:

“This would be a new requirement, and we are reviewing it as quickly as possible. Currently, hospitals do not ask about a patient’s immigration status as a condition of treatment. Hospitals are required by law to provide life-saving treatment to anyone, regardless of ability to pay or status.”

When asked for comment, Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Board CEO Stephen Love provided NBC 5 with the following statement:

“Our hospitals are compliant with EMTALA and treating patients who need medical care, especially in our emergency departments. That is the compassionate and caring treatment we strive to provide to all patients. When it comes to the executive order and how the state wants to collect data, hospitals always comply with federal, state and local laws and requirements. Of course, we will work with state agencies to comply with new procedures, regulations or requirements.”

Martinez is confident the numbers will show that migrants are not a burden on taxpayers.

“Abbott is creating fear,” he said. “Abbott is creating an atmosphere of hatred for people by doing this.”

Dr. Oquendo envisions several possible scenarios.

“People might think twice about going to the hospital for a cold, diarrhea and vomiting,” he said. “The cost of treating a cold, a virus or a stomach ache in a primary care setting is very low compared to going to the hospital, where the cost is very, very high.”

Oquendo says that in reality, the “vast majority” of hospital visits could be handled at a community clinic or urgent care facility.

He warns that while the regulation may reduce unnecessary hospital visits, people who need help may avoid seeking care out of fear, which could ultimately end up with serious complications requiring hospitalization that will cost taxpayers even more money in the long run.

“They can get more seriously ill before they get to the hospital,” Oquendo said.

The doctor appeals to all those in need, regardless of status, to immediately go to a clinic or primary care physician for preventive care. This will not only help avoid hospital visits for minor health problems, but also stop or slow down the progression of diseases before they worsen and require expensive hospitalization.

“The clinics throughout the metro area, the clinics designed for these populations, will continue to operate. If anything, they will have to work harder,” Oquendo said. “It will definitely be different to pay for health care in one of these clinics than to pay for health care in one of these hospitals, which will be 10, 20 times more expensive.”