What if I get sick and need to go to a hospital? If I say that my immigration status is not legal, can I be deported? This is the question that thousands of undocumented immigrants living in Florida are asking themselves, since as of July 1 a immigration lawconsidered one of the toughest in the country.
This regulation (SB 1718), approved on May 10 by Governor Ron DeSantis, who seeks to be the presidential candidate of the Republican party, among its measures asks hospitals to ask about the immigration status of patients in admission records . If they don’t, they expose themselves to penalties. Next, he knows the details about hospital care.
WHAT DOES SB 1718 SAY ABOUT HEALTH CARE FOR UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS IN FLORIDA?
The new law, SB1718, requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to collect information about the immigration status of patients on admission or registration forms.
“Each hospital that accepts Medicaid must include a provision on its admission or patient registration forms for the patient or the patient’s representative to state or indicate whether the patient is a citizen of the United States or lawfully present in the United States or not. lawfully present in the United States”, indicates Section 5. Article 395.3027 entitled Collection of data on the immigration status of the patient.
However, the rule makes it clear that having an unregulated immigration status is not an impediment to receiving medical care: The query must be followed by a statement that the response [en el formulario o registro] Will NOT affect patient care”. It is important to mention that the patient has the right to refuse to respond or indicate their immigration status.
WHAT WILL THE DATA ON IMMIGRATION STATUS BE USED FOR?
The state standard indicates that heThe data on the immigration status will not be delivered to the immigration authorities, but will serve to know the health care budget allocated to patients based on their immigration status: US citizens, aliens in the country lawfully or not lawfully present in the United States, and those who declined to respond.
Each hospital must submit a quarterly report to the Agency for Health Care Administration. The report must include the number of admissions to the hospital or visits to the emergency department according to each immigration status, explains the portal ACE.
On March 1 of each year, the agency must also present a report to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives with the same data, as well as information related to the costs of unpaid care for undocumented immigrants.
According to the law, “the rules may not require disclosure of patient names or any other personally identifiable information.”.
WILL THE CARE IN HOSPITALS CHANGE?
The president of the Jackson Health System, Carlos Migoya, stated that Care in hospitals like Jackson Memorial, starting July 1, will be the same as always.
“Shapes and changes in the Jackson there are none. At this moment we have to capture information about the patients. The pass that is going to take place on July 1st is the same pass that has been here for the last twenty years.said Migoya to Univision.
He assured that at no time has the information of any person been given nor will they. “There is no one here looking at the residency system. That has never happened here, nor will it happen.Migoya added.