‘Free-loading must end’: Mace on bill requiring hospitals to document citizenship status
FILE – Rep. Nancy Mace, walks to join other members of the House Oversight Committee, Dec. 13, 2023, at the Capitol in Washington. Three Republican incumbent U.S. House members in South Carolina are facing primary challengers in 2024, including Mace, who is seeking a third term with the backing of Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
(WPDE) — South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace introduced a new bill Tuesday, which would require hospitals participating in Medicare to ask about the citizenship status of patients during the intake process.
Mace introduced the American Citizenship Healthcare Integrity Act, which she described as “legislation to force transparency and accountability for the immense cost and burdens illegal aliens place on our healthcare system.”
“While hardworking Americans struggle to pay their medical bills and insurance premiums, illegal aliens are getting FREE healthcare on the American taxpayer’s dime,” Mace said. “The free-loading must end.”
Under this legislation, hospitals participating in Medicare must ask the citizenship status of patients during the intake process and report the number of undocumented persons receiving care and the total cost of uncompensated care provided to illegal aliens to the Department of Health and Human Services, the release said.
“For years, politicians have allowed illegal aliens to exploit our healthcare system while American families foot the bill,” Mace continued. “Hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed. Insurance premiums keep rising. American citizens are rationing their medications, delaying care, and going without coverage because they can’t afford it, while illegal aliens are receiving care for free. This madness has to end, and it starts with forcing transparency and accountability with our bill.”
According to the National Immigration Law Center, under current federal law, “Health care providers have no affirmative legal obligation to inquire into or report to federal immigration authorities about a patient’s immigration status.”
Two states currently require hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status and to report the aggregate amount of uncompensated care provided to undocumented patients.
Florida passed Senate Bill 1718 in May of 2023, which required hospitals to collect immigration data.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed Executive Order No. GA-46 in August of 2024, which mandated public hospitals to collect and report costs for care given to undocumented patients, with reports due in 2025 and 2026.
