Washington [US], July 3: Twenty US states have filed a lawsuit after the Trump administration transferred personal data belonging to the Medicaid health insurance program to an agency that promotes immigration deportation.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta accused the Trump administration of violating federal privacy laws by handing over the Medicaid data of millions of enrollees to an agency that promotes immigration deportation last month, CNN reported on July 2. He said he represented California in filing a lawsuit against the federal government over the action, along with the attorneys general of 19 other US states .
Earlier, AP was the first news agency to report that advisers to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had requested the transfer of data including personal medical information of people living in the states of California, Illinois, Washington and the capital Washington to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
These are states that allow non-US citizens to participate in health insurance programs for low-income people under the Medicaid program.
The information transferred to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security includes the names, addresses, social security numbers, immigration status and payment claim data of Medicaid participants in the above states.
That data was passed on to agencies that carry out deportation programs for illegal immigrants as the federal government stepped up its nationwide crackdown. Experts say the Department of Homeland Security used the information to track immigrants in mass deportations.
The data could be used to help the Department of Homeland Security track immigrants in mass deportation operations, experts say.
California Attorney General Bonta alleges the federal government's release of Medicare participant data violates privacy laws.
"For 70 years, federal law has made it clear that personal health care information must be kept private and can only be shared in very limited circumstances for the public good or the Medicaid program," Bonta said, adding that the federal government has gone against these laws and regulations.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
