Trump administration can share certain Medicaid information with ICE, judge rules
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HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz listen as President Trump makes an announcement in the Oval Office on Nov. 6. Photo: Andrew Cabellero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
The Trump administration can share basic Medicaid information about undocumented immigrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal judge ruled Monday.
The big picture: The judge's order permits sharing of basic biographical, contact and location information, a win for the Trump administration's effort to use Medicaid data in its immigration crackdown — an arrangement that critics said raised privacy concerns.
Context: Undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federal Medicaid coverage.
- But emergency Medicaid dollars pay hospitals for care provided to those who meet eligibility requirements regardless of immigration status, per KFF. And some states provide state-funded coverage to some who are ineligible for federal funds.
Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, a California-based Obama appointee, said in his Monday order that sharing basic biographical, location and contact information is "clearly authorized by law."
- However, he strictly limited what kinds of data could be shared.
- The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services can provide citizenship and immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth and Medicaid ID for those illegally living in the United States.
- Chhabria did block broader data sharing, writing that "the new policies are totally unclear about what that information would be, why it would be needed for immigration enforcement purposes, and what the risks of sharing it with DHS would be."
State of play: Chhabria pointed to government filings outlining the policy and legal background on such information sharing, including one that said CMS would provide ICE the "minimum required information."
- But that policy said CMS may share other information beyond immigration status, location and phone numbers "on a case-by-case basis as permitted by law."
- Chhabria wrote that many questions remain and that the memos fail to address "why a more narrowly tailored policy, focused on the basic biographical information discussed above, would not suffice for immigration enforcement purposes."
What they're saying: A spokesperson for California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office told Axios in a statement that it is "disappointed in the court's decision allowing for the sharing of some Medicaid data with ICE."
- But they added, "we are gratified that the court enjoined DHS's broader efforts to obtain more sensitive health data; data of citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other people with lawful status; and data from other CMS administered health programs."
Catch up quick: The judge blocked the Trump administration in August from using the information for immigration enforcement purposes, finding a "reasoned decisionmaking process" did not precede the policy change.
- That prior preliminary injunction will remain in place until next Monday.
Go deeper: HHS shares Medicaid enrollees' data for immigration enforcement
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from the California attorney general's office.
