Texas Law Requiring Hospitals To Ask Immigration Status Takes Effect Nov. 1

Texas hospitals who are enrolled in state health plans, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will start asking patients' immigration status in November. Florida has had a similar law since 2023.
The mandate takes effect Nov. 1st — just before the end of a presidential election in which illegal migration is a key topic on the minds of voters.
Governor Greg Abbot saying, “Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.”
The mandate in Texas differs from Florida's in that providers don't have to tell patients their status won't be shared with authorities.
In Florida and in Texas, people who aren't in the U.S. legally can't enroll in Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income people — except in the case of a medical emergency.