With immigration reform one of the hottest topics on the national political scene this month, hospitals are quietly participating in a federal program that reimburses them for providing care to illegal immigrants. The government will distribute $230 million in federal funds through the program. In Texas alone, more than 250 hospitals and 1,500 physicians have signed up to participate in the program.
Of course, critics argue that the program could lead to discrimination against low-income patients. There is also a built in Catch-22: How exactly do you determine if the patient you are treating is a registered citizen? It is against the law for hospitals to ask if a patient is an illegal immigrant.
- see this article from the Dallas Business Journal