By james art LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s Executive Order GA-46, requiring hospitals to collect and report data on patients’ citizenship and immigration status, goes into effect Friday, November 1st, but Lubbock hospitals say that it “will not affect patient care” or “the ability to apply for financial aid”.
The order requires hospitals to ask about the citizenship or immigration status of patients and report the cost of care for those patients to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
Covenant Health released this statement Thursday afternoon:
Covenant Health remains committed to our mission as an expression of God’s healing love, serving all, especially those who are poor and vulnerable.
While we comply with Governor Abbott’s executive order, it does not change Covenant Health’s unwavering commitment to the health and safety of every patient. Federal law requires that any answer to questions about citizenship status not affect patients’ care or the ability to apply for financial assistance. We will remain steadfast in serving all and believe that every human interaction is a sacred encounter. We will continue to strive to meet the health needs of the communities we serve, just as we have for more than 100 years.
And here is the text of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Order:
Pursuant to Executive Order No. GA-46 issued by Governor Greg Abbott on August 8, 2024, hospital providers must ask each patient during the hospital admission process whether the patient is (1) a citizen or an alien lawfully resident in United States, or (2) an alien who is not a lawful resident of the United States. Hospital providers must report to HHSC quarterly the number of discharges and emergency visits from all patients and patients who are (1) a citizen or alien lawfully resident in the United States, and (2) an alien not lawfully resident in the United States countries. Hospital providers must also report to HHSC quarterly the costs of care for patients who are not in the United States legally. Hospitals are expected to begin collecting the information by November 1, 2024, and begin reporting to HHSC on March 1, 2025.
When collecting information about a patient’s immigration status, hospital providers must provide notice that, as required by federal law, the response will not affect the patient’s care.
This spreadsheet is intended to provide guidance on what information urgent care hospitals will need to be able to track, collect, and report so that you can begin making the necessary systemic adjustments before November 1, 2024. As outlined in the executive order , reporting will be done monthly, quarterly. The bulleted list below outlines how the reporting will be done:
March 1, 2025 – Information for September, October, November (for this first year there will be no reporting for September or October).
1 June 2025 – Information for the period from September to February.
September 1, 2025 – Information for the period from September to May.
December 1, 2025 – Information will be provided for September through August.
January 1, 2026 – HHSC will provide a report to the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House on future years’ spending.
Each time data is submitted, information will need to be provided for all applicable months. This means that data for previous reported months will need to be updated and/or resubmitted as appropriate. We will provide additional guidance in the coming weeks to specify how this information will be reported to HHSC.
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