State attorneys common allege that the information is getting used for mass deportations and different large-scale immigration enforcement functions.
A coalition of 20 state attorneys common filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Trump administration on July 1, difficult its choice handy over the non-public information of some Medicaid enrollees to the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS), which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The grievance, led by California Legal professional Basic Rob Bonta, was filed within the District Court docket for the Northern District of California and alleges that the mass switch of knowledge violates federal well being privateness safety legal guidelines, together with the Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act, in addition to the Federal Data Safety Modernization Act and the Privateness Act.
The attorneys common are asking the court docket to search out that the administration’s switch of Medicaid information was unauthorized and unlawful beneath federal regulation, together with the Administrative Process Act. They’re looking for to dam the Division of Well being and Human Providers (HHS) from making additional transfers of such information to the DHS, the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), or every other federal company.
The attorneys common additionally requested the court docket to stop any federal company from utilizing Medicaid information for immigration enforcement, inhabitants surveillance, or related functions, and to order the destruction of any information that has already been transferred.
“The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE. In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care,” Bonta stated in a July 1 assertion.
“We’re headed to court to prevent any further sharing of Medicaid data—and to ensure any of the data that’s already been shared is not used for immigration enforcement purposes.”
As of January 2025, 78.4 million folks have been enrolled in Medicaid and the Kids’s Well being Insurance coverage Program throughout the US, in line with the lawsuit.
The grievance notes that a certain quantity of private information is routinely exchanged between the states and the federal authorities for the aim of verifying eligibility for Medicaid.
In June, California, Illinois, and Washington state realized that HHS had disclosed “en masse” personal Medicaid recordsdata to DHS representing tens of millions of people, in line with the lawsuit.
All of these states permit unlawful immigrants to enroll in Medicaid applications that pay for his or her advantages utilizing solely state taxpayer {dollars}.
The information have been “personally identifiable, not anonymized or hashed, and … included Medicaid beneficiaries’ immigration status and addresses, among other details,” the grievance states.
Plaintiffs within the lawsuit famous that HHS stated it handed over the huge quantity of private information to DHS “to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.”
In Might, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers, stated his company and DOGE had recognized at the least $14 billion in Medicaid fraud, waste, and abuse, together with cash obtained by people who wrongly enrolled in this system throughout a number of states.
The context by which the information have been shared with ICE, nevertheless, “casts serious doubt on the government’s explanation for its actions,” the attorneys common wrote of their grievance.
They stated the federal authorities is creating a big database for “’mass deportations’ and other large-scale immigration enforcement and mass surveillance purposes,” in line with the grievance.
“Plaintiffs bring this action to protect their State Medicaid programs, and to prevent them from being used in service of an anti-immigrant crusade, or other purposes unrelated to administration of those programs,” the swimsuit states.
The states of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have joined California within the lawsuit.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon advised The Epoch Occasions in an emailed assertion that the division “acted entirely within its legal authority—and in full compliance with all applicable laws—to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.”
“Under the leadership of Dr. Oz, CMS is aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds to subsidize care for illegal immigrants—that includes California,” Nixon stated. “This oversight effort—supported by lawful interagency data sharing with DHS—is focused on identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse.”
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