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20 states sue Trump govt for sharing Medicaid data with deportation agents
AP Los Angeles
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged on Tuesday that the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, saying he and 19 other states' attorneys general have sued over the move.
Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's advisors ordered the release of a dataset including the private health information of people in California, Illinois, Washington, and Washington to the Department of Homeland Security last month, AP reported.
Those jurisdictions let noncitizens enrol in Medicaid programmes that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars.
The unusual sharing of private health information, including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status and claims data, came as deportation officials accelerated enforcement efforts.
Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon has defended the release.
HHS acted entirely within its legal authority -- and in full compliance with all applicable laws -- to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them, he said in a statement.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Trump voters in for a shock as $800 billion Medicaid cuts hit home in MAGA stronghold
Teresa McNab, a Trump voter from Knox County, Kentucky, came home after dropping her daughter at school and found her husband Jackie having a seizure on the floor. Jackie, who had blood clots, died despite Teresa trying to save him before the ambulance arrived. He was only 45. Teresa and her daughter had to sell lemonade to raise money for his burial and gravestone. One small relief was that Medicaid paid Jackie's hospital bills. Teresa's story shows how important Medicaid is for poor families in rural areas like Knox County. But now that support is under threat due to Trump's plan to cut up to $800 billion from Medicaid, as stated by Telegraph report. Big Medicaid cuts may hurt Trump's own voters Trump wants the cuts to help fund $3.7 trillion in tax cuts, and is pushing lawmakers to pass it by July 4. These cuts would make 16 million people lose health insurance by 2034, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Even though Republicans say the bill will help household income, there's fear it will mostly hurt the poor people who actually voted for Trump. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here Out of the 200 countries that depend most on Medicaid, 84% voted for Trump in 2024. Knox County, where 72% voted for Trump, is one of the poorest places in the U.S. and 68% of people use public health insurance. These numbers show how risky this move could be for Trump politically, as mentioned in the report by Telegraph. Trump's former chief strategist Steve Bannon warned the bill might fail because 'MAGA is on Medicaid.' Pollster Frank Luntz says hardcore Trump fans will still support him even if they lose benefits. But Luntz also said working-class voters may turn against Trump if the cuts hurt them directly. Medicaid started in 1965 to help low-income people with healthcare. Live Events Medicare is for people over 65 and fully funded by the federal government. Medicaid is for low-income people and funded by both states and the federal government. Before Obama's Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, adults without kids were mostly not eligible for Medicaid, as per the report by Telegraph. The ACA let more low-income adults qualify, dropping the number of uninsured Americans from 44 million to 25 million. Trump's bill could undo those gains by cutting $793 billion from Medicaid over 10 years. Kentucky could lose $21 billion in federal funding and 277,000 people may lose coverage, says research group KFF. ALSO READ: Musk escalates feud with Trump, throws support behind nemesis Thomas Massie for his re-election New work rules and paperwork may make people lose coverage A big change in the bill is a new requirement to work 80 hours a month to keep Medicaid under ACA rules, saving $344 billion. The bill also saves $64 billion by making people re-check their eligibility every 6 months instead of once a year. Darren Bullock, a Trump voter who left the Democrats, might lose his Medicaid because of the new work rules, as mentioned by the report by Telegraph. Darren says jobs are hard to get in rural areas like Knox County, especially since he has no car, phone, or public transport access. Jennifer Tolbert from KFF warns that people aged 55–64, who often retired early from tough jobs, are most at risk. She says even people who do work might lose Medicaid just because they can't keep up with the extra paperwork. Teresa McNab, who now works as a full-time cook, says she can meet the work hours but has no time to do the paperwork due to caring for her daughter and elderly mom. Medicaid is also key to drug rehab programs in Kentucky, especially with the region's opioid crisis. Chris Ross, a former drug addict, says Medicaid paid for his treatment and helped him turn his life around. He now has a job, is married, and got custody of his kids, all thanks to Medicaid support. Daniel Phipps, who runs a rehab group, says most of his patients are on Medicaid, and cuts could harm these services badly, as stated by Telegraph. While the Republican bill exempts people in rehab from work rules, they might still lose coverage if they can't meet reporting demands. Tolbert adds that local hospitals in poor areas will lose money and may cut back staff or services as more people go uninsured. Politically, this could hit Trump hard in countries like Knox, where people strongly vote Republican but rely heavily on Medicaid. Chris Ross said people can't just ignore such big threats to their survival — even if they're loyal Trump voters, according to the report by Telegraph. FAQs Q1. What is Trump's plan for Medicaid? Trump wants to cut up to $800 billion from Medicaid to help pay for tax cuts. This may cause millions of people to lose their health insurance. Q2. Who will be most affected by these Medicaid cuts? Low-income families, especially in rural places like Knox County, Kentucky, where many people voted for Trump, could lose coverage or face harder rules.
New Indian Express
9 hours ago
- New Indian Express
20 US states sue Trump administration for releasing private Medicaid data to deportation officials
WASHINGTON: The Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it turned over Medicaid data on millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged on Tuesday, saying he and 19 other states' attorneys general have sued over the move. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, DC, to the Department of Homeland Security, The Associated Press first reported last month. All of those states allow non-US citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. The unusual data sharing of private health information, including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status, and claims data for enrollees in those states, was released to deportation officials as they accelerated enforcement efforts across the country. The data could be used to help the Department of Homeland Security locate migrants in its mass deportation campaign, experts said. Bonta said the Trump administration's data release violates federal health privacy protection laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). 'This is about flouting seven decades of federal law policy and practice that have made it clear that personal healthcare data is confidential and can only be shared in certain narrow circumstances that benefit the public's health or the Medicaid program,' Bonta said during a news conference on Tuesday. The Trump administration has sought to arm deportation officials with more data on immigrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the US. The move to shore up the federal government's data on immigrant Medicaid enrollees appears to have been set in motion in May, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it would be reviewing some states rolls to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with 'unsatisfactory immigration status.' As part of the review, CMS asked California, Washington and Illinois to share details about non-U.S. citizens who have enrolled in their state's Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Medicaid Deputy Director Sara Vitolo that was obtained by the AP. The memo was written by several CMS officials under Vitolo's supervision, according to sources familiar with the process. CMS officials attempted to fight the data sharing request from Homeland Security, saying that to do so would violate federal laws, including the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, according to the memo. The legal arguments outlined in the memo were not persuasive to Trump appointees at HHS, which oversees the Medicaid agency. Four days after the memo was sent, on June 10, HHS officials directed the transfer of 'the data to DHS by 5:30 ET today,' according to email exchanges obtained by AP. HHS is 'aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds,' agency spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement. The agency has not provided details on DHS' role in the effort. Nixon also defended the legality of releasing the data to DHS. 'HHS acted entirely within its legal authority – and in full compliance with all applicable laws – to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,' he said in the statement. Dozens of Democratic members of Congress — in both the House and Senate — have sent letters to the involved agencies, demanding that data sharing cease and that Homeland Security destroy the information it has received so far.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
20 US states sue Trump admin: Row erupts over 'illegal' sharing of medicaid data; release targeted non-citizens
Secretary of health and human services Robert F Kennedy Jr (Image credits: AP) California attorney general Rob Bonta announced Tuesday that the state, along with 19 other attorneys general, is suing the federal government over the release of Medicaid data to deportation officials. The lawsuit claims that the Trump administration violated federal privacy laws when it handed over the private health information of millions of enrollees to deportation officials last month, reported AP. The data, which included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration status and claims records, was shared by order of advisors to health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. It covered individuals in California, Illinois, and both Washington State and Washington, DC. These states allow noncitizens to enrol in Medicaid programs funded solely by state taxpayer dollars. The sharing of data came as immigration enforcement increased efforts nationwide. A spokesperson for the department of health and human services (HHS), Andrew Nixon, defended the move, saying, 'HHS acted entirely within its legal authority- and in full compliance with all applicable laws- to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.'
