Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is Bad Immigration Policy. Florida is Fixing That

America’s Founding Fathers understood that effective management of their new nation required a continuous understanding of its inhabitants. They expressed that need in Article 1, Section 2 — one of the first provisions of the U.S. Constitution — by specifying that a count of the entire population is to be undertaken for the purpose of legislative representation. This set the legal authority for a decennial census and the collection of data which serves as the basis for the orderly apportionment of Congress, and for how and where government resources are spent.  

Acquiring knowledge about who and what you’re dealing with is not exclusive to public administration. Carpenters live by the “measure twice, cut once” adage, while CEOs adhere to management consultant Peter Drucker’s famous advice, “You can’t improve what you don’t measure.” 

Likewise, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently approved a bill which, among other things, will help determine the number of illegal aliens accessing taxpayer-subsidized health care benefits. SB 1718 requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to inquire about immigration status on patient admission forms. Those hospitals are then required to submit that information to the Agency for Healthcare Administration which will calculate Florida’s annual cost of uncompensated care for illegal aliens residing in Florida.

DeSantis understands doing so is a necessary step to gauge demand, allowing state officials to prudently manage resources; after all, Florida now has 1.284M illegal aliens, almost half (46%) of them uninsured, and no one really knows what their health care costs taxpayers, evidenced by a recent Miami Herald article wondering “How much do undocumented patients cost Florida’s hospitals?

Evidently worried about what the new reporting may reveal, immigrant special interests are stirring the pot. 

“These restrictions are creating a climate of fear in the state,” said Drishti Pillai, director of immigrant health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “Increased fears among immigrants … will have some blood-chilling effects by leading immigrant families to avoid seeking health care not only for themselves, but also for their children who may include U.S.-born citizens, just out of fear of drawing attention to their immigration status,” Pillai said.

More accurately, Ms. Pillai, herself seems to be creating a “climate of fear.” The “restrictions” are in fact simply questions and no one will be denied care if they decline to answer. The hyperbole is no surprise though; she’s part of the Kaiser umbrella which includes KFF, a left-leaning healthcare research organization that dismisses the cost of illegal alien health care to taxpayers because — get this — “government payments substantially offset the cost of uncompensated care for the uninsured.”

That’s right, costs just magically disappear because, you know, it’s the government paying. 

Commonsense measures designed to mitigate mass immigration are always met with unfounded claims. Sanctuary city advocates often warn that without those policies, illegal aliens live in “climates of fear” that prevent them from sharing information about crimes with police. But just like the assertion that answering simple questions will inhibit those in need from seeking health care, this too is hooey with no empirical basis. Virtually all police have the discretion to not inquire about the immigration status of a witness to a crime, and virtually all do. There is simply no documented evidence anywhere indicating that an illegal alien was deported as a result of reporting a crime or volunteering information to the police. 

Likewise, no hospital in Florida is going to alert ICE to come apprehend an illegal alien being treated for atrial fibrillation in the emergency room, especially given most healthcare providers oppose even asking the new questions.

Ultimately, no one in Florida, or anywhere in America, should fear acquiring urgent medical treatment.   The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA, 42 U.S.C. § 1395) was enacted in 1986 and requires hospitals to accept and stabilize every patient in an emergency situation regardless of immigration status. This reality, of course, is omitted from the narratives of those who oppose Florida’s new policy designed to help evaluate how taxpayer money is being spent.

America is a compassionate country and Florida, even with its deterrence-minded new immigration laws, will continue to provide needed services to fellow human beings, regardless of immigration status.  Is it too much to ask if Florida measures that level of accommodation by just asking a few questions?