The Trump administration will provide personal data from immigrant Medicaid subscribers to deportation officials
This week’s administration of President Donald Trump provided personal data to deportees on millions of Medicaid subscribers.His radical immigration crackdown.
Internal memos and emails obtained by the Associated Press show that Medicaid officials cite legal and ethical concerns and did not attempt to block data transfers.
Nevertheless, the two top advisors of the Health SecretaryRobert F. Kennedy Jr.I ordered the dataset that was handed over to the Department of Homeland Security, as shown by the email. Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services were given just 54 minutes Tuesday to comply with the directive.
The dataset contains information about people living in California, Illinois, Washington, and Washington, DC. All of these can be enrolled in a Medicaid program where non-US citizens pay for their expenses using only the state taxpayer dollars. The CMS has forwarded the information as if the Trump administration is stepping up its enforcement efforts in Southern California.
In addition to helping authorities identify immigrants, the government said it could use the information to abandon immigrants seeking green cards, permanent residency or citizenship if they have ever obtained federally funded Medicaid benefits.
California GovernmentGavin NewsomThe office said in a statement it was concerned about how deportees will use the data, particularly when federal authorities are doing it.Immigrant attackWith the support of the Los Angeles National Guard and Marines.
“We deeply appreciate the privacy of all Californians,” the statement said. “This potential data transfer that has sparked our attention by the AP is extremely concerned and can potentially be illegal, especially given the numerous headlines highlighting the potential inappropriate use of personal information and federal actions targeting American personal information.”
Some California lawmakers on Friday voiced an alarm. Written by Democrat Laura Friedman x “We should never use the need for people to go to the doctor against them. This only leads to more confusion and pain in our community.”
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for Health and Welfare in the United States, said data sharing is legal. He refused to answer questions about why the data was shared with DHS and how it was used.
“In regards to recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS is fully compliant with its legal authority and all applicable laws to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved to individuals who are legally entitled to receive them,” Nixon said.
DHS Deputy Director Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS employee, said in a statement that Trump has “promised to protect Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries,” and is exploring initiatives to ensure that millions of illegal aliens CMS and DHS are not intended to equip Americans to maintain their promise after Joe Biden floods our country.
The initiative appears to be part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide more data on immigration to DHS. For example, in MayFederal judgeI refused to blockInternal Revenue AgencyFrom sharing immigrant tax data with immigration and customs enforcement, to help agents find and detain people living in the United States without legal status.
Target review of millions of immigrant Medicaid subscribers
The CMS announced later last month that it was considering state Medicaid enrollments to ensure that federal funds are not being used to pay compensation for people with “inadequate immigration status.” In a letter sent to state Medicaid officials, CMS said the effort was part of Trump’s February 19 executive order.
As part of the review, California, Washington and Illinois shared details about non-US citizens who have registered with the state’s Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Associated Press Deputy Director Saravitro. The memo was written by several CMS officials under the supervision of Vitolo, according to sources familiar with the process.
The data includes the notes and notes familiar with what they sent to the CMS and what they shared with DHS, as well as addresses, names, Social Security numbers and billing data for those states. Both individuals spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to share details about the data exchange.
CMS officials have tried to combat data sharing requests from Homeland Security, saying that this would violate federal laws, including the Social Security Act and the 1974 Privacy Act, according to Vitolo’s memo.
“Several federal statutory and regulatory authorities do not allow CMS to share this information with entities other than CMS,” Vitolo further explains that such personal data sharing is permitted only directly under the Medicaid program’s direct management.
Sharing information about Medicaid applicants or subscribers with DHS officials violates “long-aged policies,” and career employee Vitolo wrote to the appointee of Kim Brandt, Associate Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of CMS.
Vitolo and Brandt could not be reached for comment.
The legal arguments outlined in the memo were not persuasive to the HHS appointees who oversee Medicaid agencies.
According to an email exchange obtained by the AP, four days after the memo was sent on June 10th, HHS officials directed “transferring data to data until today’s 5:30 ET.”
Former government officials said the move is unusual as CMS, which has access to personal health data in the country, usually does not share such sensitive information with other departments.
“DHS does not play a role in anything related to Medicaid,” said Jeffrey Grant, a former career employee at CMS.
Beyond Her legal argument, Vitolo said sharing information with DHS could have a calm impact on the state and possibly encourage them to withhold information. In the state, she added that she needs to protect the “legal risks” they were taking by providing federal employees that can be shared with international staff.
“Concerns” development
All states must legally provide emergency Medicaid services to non-US citizens, including those who are legally present but have not yet met in a five-year wait to apply for Medicaid.
Seven states, together with districts, allow immigrants who do not legally live in the country to fully benefit their state Medicaid programs. The state has launched these programs during the Biden administration and said it will not charge the federal government to cover medical costs for immigrants.
The Trump administration raised doubts about the pledge.
Nixon, a spokesman for HHS, said the state’s Medicaid program for immigration “has opened floodgates for illegal immigrants to exploit Medicaid, forcing the bill on hardworking Americans.”
All states in California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado have Democratic governors. Due to issues with his state budget, Newsom announced earlier this year that it would freeze registration for the program. Illinois will also close the program for around 30,000 non-US citizens in July.
The remaining states in New York, Oregon, Minnesota and Colorado have yet to submit identifiable data to CMS as part of the review, according to public health officials who reviewed CMS requests with states.
Illinois health officials also said they are “deeply interested” in the Associated Press’ findings that revealed that state Medicaid customer information is being shared with federal agencies other than CMS.
In a statement issued after the release of the Associated Press story, California’s Newsom said the decision to share the data would “undetectablely put the safety, health and security of those subject to this abuse.”
District and Washington state health officials did not respond to requests for comment.
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com