Texas says undocumented immigrants visited local hospitals 80K times
in three months. That's 2% of all visits.
While the state says undocumented patients cost hospitals $329 million
over three months, critics say the data lacks payment information and
more context
...
Also, not included in the data release is how much uninsured, lawfully
present Texas residents cost hospitals. Policy analysts have told The
Texas Tribune they believed that cost to be far larger since the state
has among the nation's highest uninsured rate. Wednesday's data shows
3.1 million lawfully-present patients visited Texas hospitals during
the three months, but it doesn't show how many of them are uninsured.
...
Data has shown for years that undocumented immigrants who lack access
to health insurance plans, Medicaid included, typically use hospitals
less than American citizens who are uninsured - Texas hospitals spend
$3.1 billion a year on uninsured care that is not reimbursed,
according to the Texas Hospital Association. Even emergency Medicaid
spending, which by design, covers undocumented immigrants' hospital
costs in limited circumstances, has gone down in the last five years.
...
Texas has the highest uninsured rate in the country, according to
recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. About 4.8 million or 19%
of Texas children and adults under the age of 65 lacked health
insurance in 2023. The state has 1.7 million undocumented immigrants.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/02/texas-hospitals-undocumented-patients-greg-abbott/
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