A coalition of 20 Democrat-led states is suing the Trump administration for sharing Medicaid data with immigration officials, arguing it violates privacy protections.
The suit, spearheaded by Californian and filed Tuesday, argues the Trump administration violated the law in sharing data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that had nothing to do with administering the health care program.
“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,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “I’m sickened by this latest salvo in the President’s anti-immigrant campaign. 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.”
The states argue that failure to notify them of data sharing plans violates the Administrative Procedures Act as well as the Social Security Act; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA; the Federal Information Security Modernization Act and the Privacy Act.
The data transfer, first reported by The Associated Press last month, showed that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, citing legal and ethical concerns.
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Author: Dillon B
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