Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued an executive order Thursday requiring hospitals to report annual medical costs to illegal immigrants so the state can seek compensation from the federal government.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has been directed to collect information about illegal immigrants receiving emergency and inpatient care in state hospitals. According to The order requires state officials to report those costs annually to Abbott's office and the Texas Legislature in order to request reimbursement from the Biden-Harris Administration. (Related story: New poll dashes Democrats' hopes that voters will forget Kamala Harris' immigration record)
The Republican governor directly blames the White House's “reckless open border policy” for soaring health care costs.
“President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' open border policies have forced the state of Texas to cover the medical costs of people who are in our state illegally,” Governor Abbott said in a press release. “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting the medical costs of illegal immigrants.”
AUSTIN, TX – JUNE 8: Texas Governor Greg Abbott speaks during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol on June 8, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“That's why I issued an executive order today requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report medical costs for undocumented immigrants in our state,” the governor continued. “Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies and fight to ensure they reimburse Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”
According to the order, hospitals will begin collecting information about medical costs for undocumented immigrants by Nov. 1 and will report the data quarterly. Starting in 2026, hospitals will begin reporting the data annually to the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas Assembly.
However, patients are also informed that under federal law, any response to their legal status will not affect their treatment, according to the order.
Governor Abbott's order comes in response to the ongoing border crisis, with more than 7 million foreign nationals entering the United States illegally since the Biden-Harris administration took office. According to Major cities across the country, including Denver, Chicago and New York City, are spending millions of dollars each year to care for the large numbers of asylum seekers who flood into their jurisdictions, according to the latest Customs and Border Protection data.
Governor Abbott, whose state makes up much of the U.S.-Mexico border, has positioned himself as a leading figure in the Republican fight against the Biden-Harris administration's border policies through the launch of Operation Lodestar and other legal challenges.
The exact cost of providing emergency and other medical care to undocumented immigrants is difficult to pin down, given that many states don't require legal residency status, but some estimates put the cost in the billions of dollars. 2023 Survey A study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimated that the total cost of health care to the federal government is more than $23 billion, while state costs are more than $18 billion.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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