In a significant legal move, attorneys general from Massachusetts and 19 other states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, alleging unlawful sharing of personal health data collected under Medicaid with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, targets a recent decision by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer confidential Medicaid health information to immigration enforcement agencies. The states argue this action clearly violates federal laws designed to safeguard individual privacy and could lead to severe health consequences for millions of people nationwide.
Medicaid, established in 1965, serves as a vital health insurance safety net for nearly 80 million low-income Americans, including vulnerable groups like children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities. Federal regulations have historically maintained strict confidentiality over personal health information gathered for Medicaid administration, allowing its disclosure only under narrowly defined conditions aimed at benefiting public health and program integrity.
Yet, recent reports revealed that HHS secretly transferred extensive Medicaid health records of millions of individuals to DHS. The federal government’s stated rationale—that the data exchange would ensure Medicaid benefits only reach legally eligible individuals—contradicts the law itself, as Congress has explicitly extended emergency Medicaid coverage to all residents in need, irrespective of immigration status.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, speaking on behalf of the coalition, condemned the move as dangerous and unlawful. She emphasized, “Disclosing individuals’ private health data for immigration enforcement puts lives at risk. These actions create unnecessary fear and confusion, discouraging eligible individuals from seeking critical medical care.”
Indeed, health advocates warn that fear of immigration enforcement could prompt many eligible individuals and their families to disenroll from Medicaid or refrain from seeking necessary emergency medical treatment altogether. This chilling effect not only undermines public health but also shifts significant financial burdens onto states and local hospitals, who must then absorb the costs of federally mandated emergency services.
The lawsuit asks the federal court to declare the Trump Administration’s decision unlawful under multiple federal statutes, including the Administrative Procedure Act, Social Security Act, HIPAA, the Privacy Act, and the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution. It seeks an injunction to immediately halt further transfers of personal Medicaid data to immigration authorities and to prevent DHS from using the information for enforcement activities.
The participating states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington—represent a broad national coalition united in defending patient privacy and public health.
This lawsuit underscores a critical battle between immigration enforcement policy and the rights of millions to medical privacy and access to essential healthcare. The decision reached in this case will likely have far-reaching implications for immigration policy, public health, and privacy rights across the United States.
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