PHOENIX β Saying the public deserves to know, both the House and Senate have approved a measure requiring hospitals that get public money to ask patients if they are in this country legally.
Strictly speaking, the identical proposal by Rep. Ralph Heap of Mesa and Sen. Wendy Rogers, approved on party line votes, are crafted so that answering the question on the patient admission form is optional.
Sen. Wendy Rogers, R-Flagstaff
There would be a statement on the form saying the answer would not affect the patient's care and that the response would not be reported to immigration authorities.
That provision did not impress Sen. Analise Ortiz, a Phoenix Democrat.
"Right now we know that no personal information is safe from being given over to ICE who is killing people in the streets, including United States citizens,'' Ortiz said.Β
Federal Medicaid officials already agreed to provide Immigration and Customs Enforcement with information about the identity and location of "aliens'' in this country. ICE also is accessing data from the Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration.
Democrats contend the fact that people would know they are going to be asked the question will result in people staying away and not getting the medical care they need.
Worse yet, said Tucson Democratic Sen. Sally Ann Gonzales, is that in avoiding seeking treatment for minor and potentially contagious diseases they will endanger everyone else. When the patient's situation becomes dire, it will only cost more for treatment, she said, as federal law prohibits hospitals from turning away patients who need emergency care.
The hour-long debate provoked heated accusations from both sides.
"This is about intimidation and terrorizing our communities,'' said Sen. Lauren Kuby, D-Tempe. And Sen. Catherine Miranda, D-Laveen, called it "just mean.''
Rogers, however, said her measure is crafted simply to help attach a dollar-and-cents figure to at least part of the price tag of people getting care at any hospital in Arizona that accepts Medicaid dollars.
She dismissed the claim that just asking the question will cause people to stay away.
"I cannot divine the intentions of fellow human beings,'' Rogers said.
"This is an accountancy bill,'' she said. "And what its downstream, subjective impact would be is anybody's guess.''
She drew support from Sen. Jake Hoffman, a Queen Creek Republican.
"This bill is about understanding the data around the financial burden of illegal aliens in this country, many of who are dangerous illegal aliens,'' Hoffman said. He put the cost nationally at $150 billion, mainly divided up between having to educate children of those not here legallyΒ β the law precludes a child from being turned away if the parent is an Arizona resident, regardless of immigration statusΒ β and health care being provided to migrants and their children.
That's about more than just money, Hoffman said.
"Hospital systems are burdened because of illegal aliens,'' he said. "That means American citizens get a lower quality of care because of that burden,'' including "overcrowded emergency rooms.''
What SB 1051 provides, he said, is the information constituents want.
"They want to know how much of their hard-earned tax dollars is going to support illegal aliens utilizing and bogging down our hospital system,'' he said.
Miranda said the flaw in that is the belief that such reporting eventually will lead to savings.
"Different ailments are at different levels,'' she said. "If our undocumented population is afraid to go to emergency or the hospitals, then those ailments go to a higher level of concern, which will cost our state money. So I'm concerned, first and foremost, about the rising cost of people in fear and not going to the hospital.''
Kuby said the concerns about the costs of providing care are offset by a study showing that undocumented people are paying federal, state and local taxes to the tune of $100 billion a year that they won't be eligible to get back in benefits.
Gonzales noted those numbers.Β
"Instead of asking for reporting and the immigration status, we should be asking the federal government and using that money to provide health care for anybody,'' she said.
Gonzales said she also sees the whole issue on a more personal level.Β
"It's only going to profile people who look like me,'' she said.
Senate Minority Leader Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, said if Hoffman and Republicans are looking for reasons why hospitals are facing financial strain they should look no further than HR 1, the massive package passed by Congress -- with only GOP votes -- which cuts funding for Medicaid that so many hospitals rely on to remain open.
The measure faces an uncertain future at best.
Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed a nearly identical measure last year. She said the legislation was opposed by business leaders, hospitals, and others "who understand that immigration enforcement is best keft to federal law enforcement and not health care professionals.''
