With undocumented immigrants at 4% of state population, critics dispute $566 million cost to healthcare system

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The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration released new data showing the financial costs of undocumented immigrants on the state’s healthcare system. But with undocumented immigrants being only 4% of the state population, critics say the new report has flaws and questions that need answering.

The report claims that undocumented immigrants have cost the state $566 million in expenses. But the report also claims a broader range of possible costs, too.

“The thing that the report says that I think is a lot clearer is the number could be anywhere between zero and 2.6 billion, so they honed in on this 566 number, but really it could be anywhere in between.”

Ana Goni-Lessan is the state watchdog reporter for USA Today Florida.

SB 1718 is a controversial immigration law passed last year. It requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask patients about their immigration status – and that may contribute to the wide estimate range.

“Well, the discrepancy is you’re not required to answer that question, ‘Are you here lawfully in the United States?’ So you have people who either answered yes, no, or decline to answer.”

Alexis Tsoukalas is a policy analyst with Florida Policy Institute. She mentions that a different, more thorough report went to legislators than the one AHCA released to the public officially.

“There’s a lot more context around the limitations of the data in the report that went to the legislature. For example, it talks about how uncompensated care has actually declined in the state over the past decade. None of that is mentioned in the public report and on the dashboard.”

She says other data can cast doubt on the stats.

“Over the past decade, the undocumented population has significantly declined by over 240 thousand people. So, if we know they’re only 4% of the state population, and according to AHCA’s dashboard, less than 1% of those responding to the survey, visiting these hospitals, it shows these Floridians are actually underrepresented in healthcare already. So they’re much less likely to be a burden on the medical system.”

Read the report here.