Pennsylvania House Bill HB1661

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 6/25/25
• Refer: 6/25/25

Caption

In licensing of health care facilities, providing for reporting costs associated with health care for illegal migrants.

Summary

HB1661 would amend Pennsylvania’s Health Care Facilities Act to require licensed hospitals to report, on an annual basis, the number of hospital admissions and emergency department visits made by individuals defined in the bill as “illegal migrants” during the prior calendar year. Hospitals would have to submit these reports to the Department of Health within 30 days after each calendar year ends. The Department of Health would then compile and publish a statewide report by March 1 each year on its publicly accessible website. That report would include the total number of admissions and emergency visits by illegal migrants, as well as information on the costs of uncompensated care associated with that population, the effect of uncompensated care on hospital costs and service capacity, hospital funding needs, and related information. The department would also be required to send the report to the Governor and legislative leaders and committee chairs, and to adopt regulations to implement the new reporting requirements.

Impact

The bill would add a new section to the Health Care Facilities Act creating a reporting mandate for hospitals and a corresponding statewide reporting duty for the Department of Health. It would not directly change eligibility for care or reimbursement rules, but it would require hospitals to track and disclose admissions and emergency department use by a newly defined immigration-status category, and to provide data tied to uncompensated care and hospital financial impact. The measure would affect licensed hospitals, the Department of Health, and state policymakers who would receive the reports.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the absence of committee transcripts or recorded votes, the available context suggests the bill is primarily informational and oversight-oriented rather than regulatory in the sense of restricting care. The framing of the bill indicates concern about hospital costs and uncompensated care associated with undocumented immigration, which suggests support from sponsors interested in quantifying that impact. No recorded debate or vote history is available here to show broader legislative sentiment.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the bill’s focus on “illegal migrants” as a reporting category, which may raise concerns about stigmatization, privacy, and whether hospitals would be asked to identify immigration status in a clinical setting. Supporters are likely to emphasize transparency, hospital funding needs, and the fiscal impact of uncompensated care, while opponents may argue that the reporting requirement could burden hospitals, discourage care-seeking, or politicize health care data collection. Because no committee discussion or votes are provided, these concerns are inferred from the bill’s structure and subject matter rather than from recorded testimony.