H.R. 9656 – Illegal Alien Patient Reporting Act

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Updated July 16, 2026 at 2:35 PM UTC

The Illegal Alien Patient Reporting Act would amend the Social Security Act to require any hospital that participates in federal health‑care programs (such as Medicare or Medicaid) to ask patients about their immigration status at admission and to report aggregated data on those statuses. Hospitals that do not follow the new reporting rules could lose their eligibility for federal program participation. The bill mainly affects hospitals, their patients, and the federal agencies that oversee health‑care funding.

Key Provisions

Hospitals must add a question to admission or registration forms asking patients (or their representatives) to indicate the patient’s immigration status, along with a notice that the answer will not affect care unless the patient is suspected of a crime.
If a patient claims to be a lawful permanent resident, the hospital must request documentary proof of that status.
Every quarter, hospitals must submit a report to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security showing counts of patients who declined to answer, who are U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, other lawfully present non‑citizens, and those not lawfully present, as well as any failures to provide proof of lawful residence.
Hospitals that fail to meet these reporting requirements can be excluded from participation in any federal health‑care program.
Each year, HHS must provide Congress with an aggregated report on the data collected, the cost of uncompensated care for undocumented patients, the impact on hospitals, and related funding needs.
The Secretaries may issue regulations to implement the requirements, but they cannot require hospitals to disclose personal identifying information.

Legislative Activity

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HouseIntro Referral Latest Action

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Energy and Commerce Committee

July 13, 2026

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HouseIntro Referral

Introduced in House

July 13, 2026

HouseIntro Referral

Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

Energy and Commerce Committee

July 13, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in HouseIssued July 13, 2026

I

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

H. R. 9656

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 13, 2026

Mr. Roy (for himself, Mr. Cloud, Mr. Brecheen, and Mr. Moore of Alabama) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to require hospitals participating in Federal health care programs to report certain information related to immigration status.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Illegal Alien Patient Reporting Act.

2.

Requiring hospitals participating in Federal health care programs to report certain information related to immigration status

Part A of title XI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 1128K the following new section:

1128L.

Requiring hospitals to report certain information related to immigration status

(a)

In general

Beginning on the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall exclude a hospital from participation in any Federal health care program (as defined in section 1128B(f)) if such hospital does not meet the requirements under subsection (b).

(b)

Immigration status reporting requirements

For purposes of subsection (a), the requirements under this subsection are, with respect to a hospital, the following:

(1)

Any admission, registration, or other intake form issued by the hospital includes—

(A)

a request that the patient (or the patient’s authorized representative) indicate the patient’s immigration status; and

(B)

a statement immediately following the request described in subparagraph (A) that the response to such request will not affect patient care or result in a report of the patient’s immigration status to a law enforcement entity unless the patient is an alien suspected of or charged with—

(i)

any State or local criminal offense; or

(ii)

any offense under section 274, 275, or 276 of the Immigration and Nationality Act or under title 18, United States Code.

(2)

In the case that a patient (or the patient’s authorized representative) indicates in response to a request under paragraph (1)(A) that the patient is an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the hospital requests to review documentary evidence of such lawful admission.

(3)

Not later than 30 days after the last day of each calendar quarter, the hospital submits a report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security that includes, with respect to all patients that were admitted to such hospital (or visited the emergency department of such hospital) during such quarter—

(A)

the number of patients that declined to respond to the request under paragraph (1)(A);

(B)

the number of patients that indicated in response to such request that they were—

(i)

a citizen or national of the United States;

(ii)

an alien who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(iii)

lawfully present in the United States with status as a nonimmigrant;

(iv)

otherwise lawfully present in the United States, including on the basis of—

(I)

temporary protected status granted under section 244 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(II)

deferred action or deferred enforced departure, including pursuant to the memorandum of the Department of Homeland Security entitled Exercising Prosecutorial Discretion with Respect to Individuals Who Came to the United States as Children issued on June 15, 2012;

(III)

asylum granted under section 208 of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(IV)

parole granted under section 212(d)(5) or 236(a)(2)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(V)

withholding of removal granted under section 241(b)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act;

(VI)

status as a Cuban and Haitian entrant, as defined in section 501(e) of the Refugee Education Assistance Act of 1980 (Public Law 96–422);

(VII)

special immigrant juvenile status granted under section 101(a)(27)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act; or

(VIII)

protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; or

(v)

not lawfully present in the United States (including whether they were an unaccompanied alien child (as defined in section 462(g)(2) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002)); and

(C)

the number of patients that indicated in response to such request that they were an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act, and failed to provide documentary evidence of such lawful admission in response to the request under paragraph (2).

(c)

Report

Not later than October 1 of each year (beginning with 2026), the Secretary shall submit a report to Congress that includes—

(1)

the information reported by all hospitals under subsection (b)(2), aggregated over the preceding calendar year; and

(2)

information related to—

(A)

the costs of uncompensated care for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States;

(B)

the impact of such uncompensated care on hospitals’ ability to provide services to the public (and the cost of such services);

(C)

hospitals’ funding needs; and

(D)

such other related information as the Secretary may require.

(d)

Regulations

The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may issue such rules as are necessary relating to the requirements under subsection (b). Such rules may not require hospitals to disclose to either Secretary any patient names or other personal identifying information.

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