The Texas Hospital Association said in an email to members that private providers can be subject to Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order directing hospitals to collect information on undocumented immigrants.
Abbott issued the executive order on Thursday that forces Texas hospitals to begin tracking the number of undocumented patients and reporting the cost of their care to the state health department.
His announcement singled out people who use “Texas public hospitals 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 El Paso Matters obtained Tuesday.
“THA recognizes there has been a level of confusion regarding which hospitals must comply, how data and immigration status will be asked for/collected, and how the order squares with privacy requirements and legal requirements for hospitals to screen and stabilize anyone” reads the email dated Friday, Aug. 9.
The association’s members include the privately owned campuses of Las Palmas del Sol Healthcare and The Hospitals of Providence, which accept Medicaid insurance, as well as the publicly owned University Medical Center of El Paso and its subsidiary, El Paso Children’s Hospital.
“We will be reviewing it (the order) with our team to fully understand its implications and requirements,” UMC spokesperson Ryan Mielke said last week.
El Paso Matters reached out to The Hospitals of Providence and Las Palmas del Sol on Tuesday for additional comment, but officials there haven’t replied.
Jennifer Ruffcorn, a spokesperson for Texas Health and Human Services, told El Paso Matters on Friday that the state will provide guidance to hospitals in the coming weeks.
Aside from hospitals enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP, the executive order also applies to “additional providers identified by Health and Human Services Commission.”
El Paso Matters asked the state last week who these additional providers are. Ruffcorn directed the news organization to the governor’s office. Eduardo Leal, a spokesperson for Abbott, did not answer the question and instead sent a link to the executive order.
El Paso Matters reported Thursday the concerns immigrant rights advocates have about the hospital order.
The Texas Hospital Association published a statement on Thursday: “Right now, hospitals don’t ask about patient 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.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The post El Paso private hospitals may have to track undocumented immigrant care appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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