Proposed Arizona Bill Would Require Hospitals To Check Citizenship Status of Patients

File this under two steps forward, one step back... Last week Arizona's 14 Amendment legislation which attempted to do away with birthright citizenship hit a snag, this week debate has begun on legislation that would require hospitals to check the citizenship status of admitted patients.

Elizabeth Erwin, of Phoenix, AZ newstation KPHO CBS has the full story here:

A new bill making its way through Arizona's state legislature is drawing a lot of attention. It's Senate Bill 1405. Some call it the hospital version of SB 1070. Anyone who has spent a day at Maricopa County Medical Center knows people from all walks of life are wheeled through the halls.But if a new piece of legislation passes, some of those patients will be wheeled from the emergency room to immigration officials.If SB 1405 passes, hospitals would be required to check a patient's citizenship status after administering any emergency medical care.

A fact sheet on the proposed legislation can be seen at the Arizona State Legislature web site here, some highlights below:

Purpose

Requires an admissions officer of a hospital to verify a person’s citizenship or legal status before admitting the person for nonemergency care.  Specifies methods for verification and requires the admissions officer to contact the local federal immigration office if a person does not meet citizenship or legal status requirements.

Background

The Arizona Department of Health Services (DHS) licenses hospitals and other health care institutions in Arizona.  DHS rules define a hospital as a health care institution that provides, through an organized medical staff, inpatient beds, medical services and continuous nursing services for the diagnosis and treatment of patients (R9-10-201). 

In addition to other licensing requirements, hospitals must comply with certain admissions procedures.  According to DHS rules, a hospital must adhere to the following admissions requirements to receive a state operating license:

a) a patient is admitted only on the order of a medical staff member;

b) an authorized individual is available at all times to accept a patient for admission;

c) except in an emergency, the hospital obtains informed consent from a patient or the patient’s representative before or at the time of admission;

d) informed consent is documented in the patient’s medical record;

e) a physician or other medical staff member performs a medical history and physical exam on a patient within 30 days before admission or within 48 hours after admission, and documents the medical history and physical exam in the patient’s medical record within 48 hours of admission; and

f) if a physician or medical staff member performs a medical history and physical exam on a patient before admission, the physician or the medical staff member enters an interval note into the patient’s medical record at the time of admission (R9-10-210).

More on this as it develops.