Michigan’s AG joins 20 states in suing Trump for sharing Medicaid data with ICE, claiming the administration is breaching privacy laws.
LANSING, Michigan — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Wednesday she’s joined a 20-state coalition filing a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration for illegally sharing personal Medicaid health data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision to transfer confidential healthcare records to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement purposes.
“Our personal healthcare data is exactly that: personal,” Nessel said. “It should remain confidential and be accessible only to agencies directly involved with Medicaid. This unlawful move by the Trump Administration to grant access to unrelated entities will undoubtedly harm the health, privacy, and well-being of all Michiganders.”
States learned on June 13 through news reports that HHS had transferred massive Medicaid data files containing millions of Americans’ personal health records to DHS. Reports indicate the federal government plans to use this information to create a database for “mass deportations” and large-scale immigration enforcement.
The data sharing breaks 70 years of legal precedent. Since Medicaid’s creation in 1965, federal law has required that personal healthcare data remain confidential, shared only in narrow circumstances benefiting public health and program integrity.
In Michigan, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover more than 2.6 million residents – over 25% of the state’s population, including more than 1 million children. The Attorney General’s office says it was not aware that Michigan residents’ data has been transferred to DHS.
The Trump Administration claims the data transfer ensures “Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.” However, Congress itself extended emergency Medicaid coverage to all U.S. residents, regardless of immigration status.
The coalition argues the administration’s actions will cause noncitizens and their families to avoid emergency medical care they’re legally entitled to receive, forcing states and hospitals to cover federally mandated services while potentially causing preventable deaths.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, Social Security Act, HIPAA, Privacy Act and other federal laws. The states seek to block future data transfers and prevent DHS from using existing data for immigration enforcement.
Joining Michigan in the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
With 78.4 million Americans enrolled in Medicaid and CHIP nationwide, the data transfer could represent one of the largest healthcare privacy breaches in U.S. history.
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