Caroline Catherman reports:
Starting Saturday, most Florida hospitals will start collecting data on patients’ immigration status, bucking advice from clinicians who warn this could deter sick people from seeking care.
A new law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in May, SB 1718, requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to inquire about immigration status on patient admission forms. The hospitals are required to then de-identify this data and submit quarterly reports to the Agency for Healthcare Administration, which will calculate Florida’s annual cost of uncompensated care for people who live in the state illegally.
[…]
The law does not require people to answer the immigration section of their patient form in order to receive care.
It instructs hospitals to ensure their admission forms clarify immediately after asking patients’ immigration status that their answer will not impact their care or be shared with immigration authorities, who are generally not allowed to enforce immigration laws in health care facilities and other “sensitive areas.”
Even with these caveats, some worry that simply asking the question will drive patients away.
Read more at the Orlando Sentinel (sub. req.)