Rep. Mike Olcott authored HB 2587, requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) to produce an annual report on uncompensated hospital care costs for illegals.

The report would include the total cost of care provided, the number of patients served, and the financial impact on hospitals.

A patient's response about citizenship would not have affected their access to healthcare services, as the bill stated that directly. The reporting itself is all this bill aimed to do. The people of Texas have a right to know.

But the Speaker sided with the Democrat who said that the bill's caption ("Relating to an annual report on certain uncompensated hospital care costs") wasn't specific enough about the fact that this was about illegals.

Rep. Olcott pushed a good and necessary bill, but the Speaker allowed it to die on a point of order.

(Bill summary provided in part by Texas Policy Research)