Texas Hospital on Abbott’s Immigration Funding Threat

Following a Houston physician’s social media claim that patients are exempt from disclosing their immigration status, Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to cut off federal funding to Texas hospitals that don’t “follow the law.” Abbott issued an executive order earlier this year directing Texas hospitals to inquire about U.S. citizenship and start gathering data on non-citizens. However, patients are not expressly required to respond to the question by the order. Hospitals must notify patients that their response has no bearing on patient care under Abbott’s order, which went into effect on November 1. The executive order requires Texas hospitals to submit quarterly reports to the Health and Services Commission that include that information as well as the precise expenses of their medical visits. Texas Children’s Hospital said in a statement that it complies fully with Abbott’s executive order.