Katie Hobbs Vetoes Bill Requiring Hospitals to Ask About Immigration Status

Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) vetoed Senate Bill 1051 last week, which would have required hospitals across the state to ask patients about their immigration status during the admission process.

The bill, sponsored by Senator Wendy Rogers (R-AZ), would have permitted hospitals that accept state payments to add questions about a patient's legal status to their registration forms.

Patients could identify themselves as U.S. citizens, lawfully present, not lawfully present, or choose not to answer. Hospitals would then be required to submit that data to the Arizona Department of Health Services every three months, though no names or personal information would be included in those reports.

Gov. Letter

In her veto letter addressed to Senate President Warren Petersen (R-AZ), Gov. Hobbs made clear she had no intention of signing the bill, noting that she had vetoed similar legislation before.

Hobbs pointed to existing federal law that requires American hospitals to provide emergency care to anyone who needs it, regardless of immigration status or ability to pay.

She also pushed back at the legislature, saying lawmakers showed a "troubling inability to grasp some of the most basic functions of Medicaid" at a time when Arizonans are already facing potential Medicaid cuts coming from Washington.

Hobbs noted that undocumented individuals are not eligible to enroll in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), suggesting the bill targeted a problem she did not believe existed in the way supporters claimed.

Opposition

Supporters of the bill argued it was simply a data collection effort meant to track how many undocumented individuals are using Arizona hospitals. Additionally, the bill had included a protection notice stating that a patient's answer would not affect their care or be shared with immigration authorities.

Democratic lawmakers celebrated the veto. Representative Oscar de los Santos (D-AZ) thanked Hobbs, along with House and Senate Democrats who voted against the bill, saying it would have turned hospitals into immigration enforcement centers.

The veto leaves hospital admission policies unchanged for now.