Experts are explaining just how far-reaching Gov. Greg Abbot’s new executive orders will be.

On Thursday, Abbott signed an executive order requiring all public hospitals in Texas to collect information on the immigration status of patients.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will use this to track the costs incurred for the care of undocumented migrants to bill the federal government.

READ MORE: Abbott order will require Texas public hospitals to collect patients’ immigration status

“If it includes any recipient of Medicaid and CHIP, it's going to include everybody,” Hidalgo County Health Authority Dr. Ivan Melendez said. 

Previous guidance for public hospitals did not include questions about immigration status.

“You will not be turned away at an institution based on your migratory status,” Melendez said. “You will not be reported to the federal government, or identified as someone who is living illegally in the United States."

Melendez says the order could affect hospital revenue by deterring patients. It’s a concern shared by community activists.

“This is going to deter our immigrant community from seeking the care that they need,” Tania Chavez-Camacho, president of the San Juan-based non-profit La Union del Pueblo Entero said. “We are recommending our community members that they share the information that they always have — like their name, address, we know that's what they need. But they should not be answering questions about citizenship."

Florida enacted a similar order in 2023.

“Hospitals are required to ask these questions, but it's voluntary for the patients whether or not they fill out this information in the form,” Drishti Pillai, , director of the health policy program at the non-profit organization KFF, said. “What we see happening in Florida is that some hospitals, some healthcare providers, have mentioned that patients are choosing not to fill out this information because, as federal law dictates, your quality of care cannot be impacted by your immigration status."

The order takes effect Friday, November 1, 2024.

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