The Politics of Immigration: Health Care to Undocumented Immigrants Overtated in Texas

According to a survey issued by the Texas health and Human Services Commission, the state of Texas and local hospital districts spent an estimated $677 million to provide health care to udocumented  immigrants in a year. The Harris County Hospital District provided $203.5 million in uncompensated care to undocumented immigrants in 2007, the report said. But county hospital district officials disputed the report’s numbers, noting that they were calculated on the basis of charges instead of costs. They said charges are inflated, typically double the actual costs of services to taxpayers.  Lopez said the actual cost is 10 to 14 percent of the hospital district’s budget, or about $100 million to $120 million. About 80 percent of the district’s udocumented immigrant patients were women and children, and most were pregnant women. Lopez said the hospital district was not consulted for the report. For the full story, click here.

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