The Trump administration’s recent decision to release private Medicaid data to deportation officials has sparked legal action from 20 states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. This is no small move – the change includes sensitive health information that impacts the millions of program enrollees. This has led to growing fears of privacy infringement and the illegal sharing of geo-located data.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the presumptive Health Secretary, has been pilloried. Advisers inside his department over-ruled these concerns in insisting that the dataset be released. This information includes sensitive private health information of individuals living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C. The sticking point The dispute started with an audit that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) opened in May. First, they wanted to determine whether or not federal dollars had been improperly awarded to people with an “unsatisfactory immigration status.”
California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta then declared this unauthorized data release a violation of federal privacy laws. This encompasses the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). He and his fellow attorneys general from 19 other states didn’t just lobby—they followed through with a lawsuit to block the overreach. They claim that this action endangers the privacy of individual health data.
“This is about flouting seven decades of federal law policy and practice that have made it clear that personal healthcare data is confidential and can only be shared in certain narrow circumstances that benefit the public’s health or the Medicaid program,” Bonta remarked regarding the implications of this data transfer.
The Trump administration’s actions are part of a broader strategy to equip deportation officials with more comprehensive information on immigrants. Reports indicate that HHS officials directed the transfer of data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) by June 10 at 5:30 PM ET. In August 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced its decision to share immigrant tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. This move came under judicial fire when a federal judge declined to issue a temporary injunction against the IRS from releasing this data.
In response to the administration’s actions, dozens of Democratic lawmakers have sent letters demanding an immediate halt to data sharing practices. They have further urged compliance from the DHS to indicate that they will destroy any information they have already collected related to Medicaid enrollees.
Bonta’s lawsuit highlights significant legal concerns surrounding the data’s use and the ethical implications of sharing sensitive information with deportation officials. Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for HHS, defended the department’s actions, stating, “HHS 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.” He further emphasized that the administration is “aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds.”
The unfolding legal fight illustrates a bigger, national argument to change immigration policy and what constitutes as protecting personal health data. As this case unfolds, it remains to be seen how the courts will address these critical issues surrounding privacy and the use of government data.
