A Texas state employee testified before the House Public Health Committee on Monday, revealing that "tens of thousands" of uninsured non-U.S. citizens received treatment in state hospitals in recent months, costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The disclosure lacks exact numbers and dollar amounts—data that was supposed to be available by March 1, a deadline given by Gov. Greg Abbott last summer when he ordered Texas hospitals that accept Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to begin asking patients about their citizenship or immigration status starting in November 2024.
According to The Texas Tribune's coverage of the Monday committee hearing, 558 hospitals responded to the order, submitting the data they gathered over the past few months. However, the data lacks consistency, with some hospitals submitting handwritten documents that had to be manually entered.
