One pregnant patient experiencing alarming pain nearly refused to go to an emergency room out of fear that shed be arrested and deported, she said. A staffer at the clinic had to personally escort the patient to the hospital.

There has definitely been an uptick in the nervousness and apprehension that a lot of immigrants already had when they had to think about getting treatment, Thomas said. But I have faith that we will get through this.

DeSantis law is even affecting clinics and organizations that dont receive federal dollars, and the law applies to migrants even though they dont receive Medicaid assistance.

Officials with the Consulate of Mexico in Orlando, which for years has operated a program offering free health care to migrants from all over the world, said fewer migrant women have shown up for free medical check-ups and prenatal care since the law took effect in May. The number of patients accessing free mammograms services, for example, has dropped 18 percent, according to the consulate.

This fear of anything health related has negatively affected the prevention of diseases within our migrant community, the consulate said in a statement.

The consulate does not receive Medicaid reimbursements.

While several states have cracked down on immigration in recent years including a law in Texas that makes it a crime to enter the state illegally from a foreign country Floridas law is believed to be the only one in the nation that requires hospitals to ask patients about their immigration status.

Undocumented immigrants in general arent eligible for federal health benefits, but some states access Medicaid dollars to help undocumented immigrants. Last year, California became the first state in the country to offer health insurance to undocumented immigrants through its Medi-Cal program, which is supported through state and federal taxes..

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'There was a lot of anxiety': Florida's immigration crackdown is causing patients to skip care - POLITICO