Costs and Characteristics of Undocumented Immigrants Brought to a Trauma Center by Border Patrol Agents in Southern Texas

• Published in: Journal of emergencies, trauma and shock Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 54 - 57
• Main Authors: Kane, Evan, Richman, Peter, Xu, K, Krall, Scott, Blow, Osbert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: India Wolters Kluwer India Pvt. Ltd 01.01.2019; Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd; Medknow Publications & Media Pvt. Ltd; Wolters Kluwer - Medknow; Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
• Subjects: Border patrol; Cost; Data collection; Demographic aspects; Economic aspects; Gender; Hospital systems; Illegal immigrants; illegal immigration; Immigration policy; Injuries; Law enforcement; Medical care, Cost of; Medical emergencies; Medical records; Noncitizens; Original; Patients; Population; Statistics; Traffic accidents & safety; Trauma; undocumented immigrants; Vehicles; Texas; United States > US; Mexico; trauma; illegal immigration; Cost; undocumented immigrants
• ISSN: 0974-2700; 0974-519X
• DOI: 10.4103/JETS.JETS_29_18

Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the costs, characteristics, and outcomes of patients brought to a Texas trauma center emergenct department after apprehension by Border Patrol (BP)/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (BP/ICE). Materials and Methods: This is a secondary analysis of a trauma registry/financial records (1/1/11-12/31/14). Data were extracted utilizing a structured form. A multivariate ordinary least square was estimated to identify variables associated with hospital charges. Results: A total of 128 patients were enrolled as the study group; mean age was 28.6 ± 6 years, 20.3% were female, 100% were Hispanic, the most common mechanism of injury (MOI) was motor vehicle crash (75%), and mean charge was $162,152 ± $295,441. Mean length of stay (LOS) was 13.2 ± 29.8 days; 92.2% survived to discharge. Bivariate analysis revealed that MOI differed by gender (P = 0.021). In the multivariate analysis, the only variable that associated with increased charge was LOS. Total charges for the 128 patients were $20.6M, total costs were $4.5M, and total payments were $0.99M. Conclusions: Undocumented immigrants apprehended by BP/ICE and brought to our trauma center utilized significant health-care resources.