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Twenty states are suing the Trump administration, saying it illegally shared Medicaid recipients
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private health records with immigration authorities. According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services gave
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Homeland Security access to millions of sensitive records without warning or consent
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The states say this breaks federal privacy laws and could scare people away from seeking medical
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care. The Associated Press obtained documents allegedly showing HHS ordered Medicaid staff
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to hand over the data within a time frame of only 54 minutes. California's Attorney General
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leads the effort with 19 other states, including New York, Massachusetts, and Arizona. The lawsuit
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points to violations of HIPAA, the federal law protecting medical privacy. The states want a
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judge to stop any more data sharing with ICE and Homeland Security. DHS says it needed the info to
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make sure only legal recipients get Medicaid, but Congress already allows emergency Medicaid
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for anyone in the U.S., no matter their immigration status. Court documents call the move an illegal
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breach of privacy, promising to fight it in court. Under federal law, hospitals must treat
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emergencies regardless of immigration status. Some states, though, like California and New York
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use their own funds to offer full Medicaid to undocumented immigrants. Over 78 million Americans are on Medicaid or CHIP, which also covers kids who don't qualify for Medicaid but can't afford private insurance
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For Straight Arrow News, I'm Kaylee Carey. Find more on this story by downloading the Straight Arrow News mobile app today
