Texas Border Business
Texas Border Business
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission referred evidence involving two Rio Grande Valley hospitals to the Texas Attorney General’s Office after Gov. Greg Abbott directed the agency to investigate maternity packages marketed to foreign nationals.
Abbott initially directed HHSC to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center after reports that the hospital advertised “Birth Packages in South Texas.” According to the governor’s office, HHSC subsequently found publicly available evidence connecting two Texas hospitals to a birth tourism advertising operation associated with havemybabyinTEXAS.com.
The hospitals identified were Mission Regional Medical Center and Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco.
Abbott ordered HHSC to refer any possible violations of state law to the Attorney General’s Office for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for possible criminal prosecution. He also directed the agency to consider available administrative sanctions and penalties.
“U.S. citizenship is not for sale in Texas,” Abbott said in announcing the referral. “Texas will not tolerate the exploitation of our health care system as a pathway to skirt federal immigration laws.”
Texas Border Business gave Mission Regional Medical Center an opportunity to respond to the governor’s allegations. A hospital spokesperson said the facility is cooperating with the state’s review and denied that its marketing was intended to promote unlawful activity or birth tourism.
“Mission Regional Medical Center is an award-winning, nonprofit community hospital that has served the Rio Grande Valley since 1954 with a mission to provide high-quality, compassionate healthcare to the communities we serve,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize that a very limited marketing campaign may have caused unintended misunderstanding and was immediately discontinued.”
The spokesperson said the campaign was intended to provide information about available services and “was never intended to encourage any unlawful activity.”
“Mission Regional Medical Center does not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and remains committed to serving the Rio Grande Valley with integrity, compassion, transparency, and full compliance with all applicable laws,” the spokesperson said.
The hospital acknowledged Abbott’s request for a review.
“We are aware of the Governor’s request that this matter be reviewed and are cooperating fully and transparently with state officials,” the spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, the marketing campaign consisted of two billboards near the hospital and a website that is no longer active. The hospital said the billboards were located within approximately 15 miles of the facility near a legal U.S. port of entry used by people who live and work in the Rio Grande Valley.
The spokesperson said the campaign “generated very little patient volume, produced no financial benefit to the hospital, and was only intended as a service for the community.”
The hospital described the Rio Grande Valley as one of Texas’ most medically underserved areas and said approximately 30% of its residents are uninsured. It also said access to maternity care in the region continues to decline.
“The hospital does not support or facilitate unlawful activity and has never operated its obstetric program with the intent of attracting individuals who are unlawfully present in the United States, promoting birth tourism, or encouraging travel to the United States for the purpose of obtaining U.S. citizenship for a child,” the spokesperson wrote.
Mission Regional reported 63 elective self-pay obstetric cases during the current year and said 97% of those patients provided home addresses in the United States.
The spokesperson said self-pay obstetric prices were set below the hospital’s cost of care and at approximately Texas Medicaid reimbursement rates. According to the hospital, each self-pay obstetric delivery resulted in a financial loss and was offered as a community benefit to expand access to affordable maternity care.
“Self-pay packages are commonly offered by hospitals nationwide and within the region,” the spokesperson said, adding that similar packages were available elsewhere at higher prices.
Mission Regional said it has continued providing obstetrical services as South Texas communities face physician shortages and the closure or reduction of maternity programs. The hospital’s services include a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“Improving maternal and infant health outcomes is central to our nonprofit mission,” the spokesperson said.
The hospital also addressed Knapp Medical Center’s connection to the matter.
“Knapp Medical Center, the only other nonprofit hospital in the Rio Grande Valley, did not actively participate in this marketing campaign with no involvement since 2024,” the spokesperson said.
Mission Regional said it provides more than $12 million annually in charity care and community benefits. Its Emergency Department treats more than 3,000 patients each month, including uninsured patients, according to the spokesperson.
The hospital said it was converted to nonprofit status in 2017 after experiencing financial distress. The spokesperson also said Forbes recently named Mission Regional one of the nation’s best Top Hospitals by State.
The hospital spokesperson’s response is published below in its entirety.
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