Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients’ personal data, including addresses, to ICE

Ventura County farm raid draws protests

Several protesters confronted federal agents during an immigration raid a Camarillo farm Thursday afternoon.

LOS ANGELES - Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials will be granted access to the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including their home addresses and ethnicities.

What we know:

An agreement signed on Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security grants ICE officials access to personal data of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

This data includes names, addresses, birthdates, ethnic and racial information, and social security numbers.

The stated purpose of this access, according to the agreement, is to "receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE."

This data sharing is part of an escalated immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.

While HHS officials have stated the primary use would be to investigate improper access to Medicaid benefits by non-U.S. citizens, the agreement explicitly notes its use for identifying "aliens" for deportation purposes.

ICE officials will not be able to download the data but will have access to it for a limited period, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until September 9.

Medicaid, a jointly funded state and federal program, provides health care coverage for low-income individuals, including millions of children.

Federal law mandates that all states offer emergency Medicaid, which covers lifesaving services in emergency rooms for anyone, regardless of immigration status.

What they're saying:

The agreement has drawn criticism from various parties.

An anonymous CMS official expressed concerns, stating, "they are trying to turn us into immigration agents."

Hannah Katch, a former adviser at CMS during the Biden administration, remarked, "it’s unthinkable that cms would violate the trust of medicaid enrollees in this way." She highlighted that personally identifiable information of enrollees has not historically been shared outside the agency unless for investigating waste, fraud, or abuse.

Assistant Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, stated via email that the two agencies "are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans."

Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, among dozens of members of Congress, sent letters to DHS and HHS officials demanding a halt to the information sharing. Schiff commented, "the massive transfer of the personal data of millions of medicaid recipients should alarm every american. this massive violation of our privacy laws must be halted immediately. it will harm families across the nation and only cause more citizens to forego lifesaving access to health care."

In response to lawsuits, HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon previously stated, "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."

The backstory:

This latest data-sharing agreement follows earlier reports last month that Health and Human Services officials aimed to identify individuals improperly enrolled in Medicaid.

That initial move involved demands for personally identifiable information on millions of Medicaid enrollees from seven states (California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota, and Colorado) that permit non-U.S. citizens to enroll in their full Medicaid programs.

These states had initiated such programs during the Biden administration, asserting they would not bill the federal government for the healthcare costs of those immigrants.

The previous data sharing with DHS officials prompted significant backlash from lawmakers and governors, leading to lawsuits from twenty states alleging violations of federal health privacy laws.

CMS officials had previously resisted the data sharing that is now part of these lawsuits. An email chain obtained by the AP, titled "hold dhs access — urgent," revealed CMS chief legal officer Rujul H. Desai suggesting an appeal to the White House for a "pause" due to ongoing litigation.

However, HHS lawyer Lena Amanti Yueh subsequently indicated that the Justice Department was "comfortable with cms proceeding with providing dhs access."

Why you should care:

The disclosure of personal health data to immigration enforcement officials could have significant consequences, potentially causing widespread alarm among individuals seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children.

Critics argue that such actions could make everyday places, including schools, churches, courthouses, and healthcare facilities, feel perilous for immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear being caught in raids.

This fear could lead people to forego necessary medical care, including emergency services, out of concern for their immigration status or that of their family members.

Medicaid provides healthcare for the poorest individuals, including millions of children.

While immigrants not legally residing in the U.S. are generally ineligible for full Medicaid benefits, federal law requires states to provide emergency Medicaid for life-saving services.

Many individuals, including both lawfully present and undocumented immigrants, rely on emergency Medicaid in desperate situations.

By the numbers:

Federal authorities have been attempting to arrest 3,000 people daily as part of immigration crackdowns.

In 2020, Medicaid's comprehensive benefits covered 87,674,197 individuals. Of these, 23,810,469 (27.2%) identified as Hispanic, 18,545,830 (21.2%) as Black, non-Hispanic, and 37,893,257 (43.2%) as White, non-Hispanic. Other racial/ethnic groups included Asian/Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic (5.7%), American Indian and Alaska Native, non-Hispanic (1.4%), and Multiracial, non-Hispanic (1.4%).

Twenty states have sued over the previous data-sharing move, alleging violations of federal health privacy laws.

The Source: This article is based on an agreement obtained by The Associated Press between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. It includes direct quotes from an anonymous CMS official, former CMS adviser Hannah Katch, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin, and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, as well as information from an email chain obtained by the AP.

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