US health department shares immigrants' personal data with ICE to track and deport illegal migrants
The move has raised privacy concerns, particularly under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HHS did not specify the type of information shared or detail any safeguards in place to protect sensitive data. However, according to the Associated Press, which reviewed the agreement, the data provided includes enrollees' home addresses and ethnicities. A DHS spokesperson said the initiative with CMS is meant to ensure that individuals residing unlawfully in the US do not receive Medicaid benefits. Under federal law, undocumented immigrants are not eligible for Medicaid. However, 14 states and the District of Columbia offer Medicaid coverage for eligible children regardless of immigration status, while seven states and DC do so for adults. An HHS spokesperson stated, 'CMS is aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds to subsidize care for illegal immigrants. This oversight effort – supported by lawful interagency data sharing with DHS – is focused on identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse.'
The agreement, signed earlier this week, follows a series of administrative actions that align with the Trump administration's broader immigration strategy. Last week, HHS widened its interpretation of a law that restricts most immigrants from receiving federal public benefits. The policy shift adds another layer of complexity for immigrant families navigating healthcare access in the US.
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India Today
14 hours ago
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Cuts to Medicaid and other programs in the recently signed massive tax and spending bill include a 10% cut to the federal share of Medicaid expansion costs to states that offer health benefits to immigrants starting October health officials estimate roughly 200,000 people will lose coverage after the first full year of restricted enrollment, though Gov. Gavin Newsom maintains that even with the rollbacks, California provides the most expansive health care coverage for poor new bill requires a shift in Maria's monthly calculations to make ends meet. She believes many people won't be able to afford the $30-a-month premiums and will instead go back to self-medication or skip treatment altogether.'It was a total triumph,' she said of Medi-Cal expansion. 'But now that all of this is coming our way, we're going backwards to a worse place.'Fear and tension about immigration raids are changing patient behavior, too. 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