Starting Friday, Texas hospitals will no longer ask patients if they are citizens of the United States.

The move follows an executive order in August. Governor Greg Abbott.

The first set of data must be reported to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission no later than March 1, 2025, and will continue to be reported quarterly.

“Increasing expenses for Texas hospitals that provide medical care to individuals not legally present in the United States impose burdens on the Texas healthcare system, including predictably increasing the costs of medical care for all Texans,” the executive order states.

The order comes at a time when illegal border crossings are rampant.

Texas leads the nation in uninsured residents, and most of them are citizens.

The Texas Hospital Association says one in six Texans does not have health insurance.

Texas hospitals provided $3 billion in uninsured care that was not reimbursed.

DFW Hospital Council officials said the order does not mean hospitals will refuse to care for noncitizens.

Crossing numbers have decreased significantly in Texas since this summer. Primarily due to Abbott’s Operation Lone Star and President Biden’s executive order.

“Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure they pay Texas for their expensive and dangerous policies,” Abbott said in August.