Illegal Alien Patient Reporting Act Proposed by Rep. Chip Roy

Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas has introduced legislation that would obligate hospitals receiving federal health-care funding to ask every patient to indicate whether they are a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident, visa holder, or otherwise lawfully present. The bill mandates periodic submission of these immigration-status data to the federal government and threatens loss of participation in federal health programs for non-compliant facilities. The proposal follows state-level efforts in Texas and Florida to collect similar information from Medicare and Medicaid recipients.

Newsweek

Current federal law, principally the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) of 1986, requires Medicare-participating hospitals to screen and stabilize anyone who seeks emergency care, regardless of immigration status. While undocumented individuals are generally excluded from Medicaid, Medicare, and Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage, emergency care may be reimbursed through emergency Medicaid provisions. Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a 2024 executive order directing hospitals to collect and report data on undocumented patients; the order allows patients to decline answering without impact on care, a point emphasized by the ACLU of Texas.

Newsweek

Roy’s press release frames the bill as a transparency measure, arguing that taxpayers have been “kept in the dark about the potential billions of taxpayer dollars spent on health care for those who are in the country illegally.” The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) cited the legislation as a way to reveal the “true cost of illegal immigration to American taxpayers.” FAIR’s Director of Government Relations Joe Chatham noted that Florida’s inquiry uncovered $566 million in taxpayer spending in a single year, with national estimates of at least $21 billion.

Newsweek

Immigrant-rights and patient-advocacy groups contend that emergency care must remain unconditional and warn that data collection could deter undocumented patients from seeking needed treatment. Legal experts stress that patients are not required to answer immigration-status questions, a safeguard already present in Texas’ executive order.

Newsweek

• “For years, Americans have watched overcrowded emergency rooms, rising health care costs, and strained hospital resources while being kept in the dark about the potential billions of taxpayer dollars spent on health care for those who are in the country illegally," Roy said in a press release.” — Chip Roy, Rep., press release

Newsweek

• “The Illegal Alien Patient Reporting Act delivers the transparency and accountability Americans deserve by ensuring hospitals report the extent to which illegal aliens are adding to the fiscal burden of our health care system.” — Chip Roy, Rep., press release

Newsweek

• “For decades, Washington has hidden the health care cost of illegal immigration and handed American taxpayers the bill,” — Joe Chatham, Director of Government Relations, FAIR

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• “Florida finally asked the question and found taxpayers paid $566 million in one year. Nationally, the cost is already estimated at least $21 billion, and that may be the floor.” — Joe Chatham, FAIR

Newsweek

The bill now faces committee review and potential hearings before any further legislative action.

Newsweek