No Borders NewsIllinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul filed a lawsuit with a coalition of 20 state attorneys general challenging a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) decision to provide “unfettered” access to personal health information to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that HHS’s mass transfer of Medicaid-related health data violates the law. The states are asking the court to stop any new transfer and to block further use of the data for immigration enforcement purposes.
Raoul says the change could harm Illinois’ health care safety net, including hospitals and community health providers that serve low-income residents. He also warns it could discourage people who are eligible from enrolling in Medicaid, even though they are legally entitled to coverage.
The filing describes Medicaid as a major source of health insurance for low-income people and other underserved groups, including children, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and seniors. Illinois relies on Medicaid and related programs to cover nearly 3.5 million people, according to the announcement.
According to the coalition, states learned through news reports that HHS transferred Medicaid data files in bulk to DHS on June 13. The government has said the transfer was meant to ensure benefits go only to people lawfully entitled to receive them, but the states say the federal government has not clearly confirmed the scope or purpose and may be building a database for large-scale immigration enforcement. The official complaint is the best source for the exact claims and requested relief.