Legal and ethical issues were raised by the Trump administration this week by giving immigration officers access to millions of Medicaid enrollment ‘ personal information, including their immigration status. According to internal memos and emails, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ( CMS ) officials claimed the data transfer might violate federal regulations like the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Social Security Act. Two senior health advisors to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had raised objections, demanded that the information be disclosed to the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS). On Tuesday, CMS was given simply 54 days to cooperate. Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the department of health and human services, claimed the sharing of data was constitutional and permitted by federal laws. He declined to discuss how DHS plans to use the data or why it was shared. The information included claims made by people in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, DC, says that permit non-citizens to get state-funded Medicaid, as well as names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and other claimed data. The launch came at a time when Southern California’s immigration police was growing. According to experts, the data could be used to track down illegal immigrants and probably revoke people’s citizenship or receive federally funded Medicaid benefits to obtain green cards. The business of California governor Gavin Newsom expressed worry about the action, calling it “potentially unlawful” and “extremely concerning.” The declaration also criticized the federal immigration enforcement’s use of specific details. CMS made a precise review of Medicaid enrollees in some states next month to make sure that people with “unsatisfactory emigration status” weren’t using national funds. According to the letter, CMS officials allegedly tried to stop DHS’s request, claiming that the information was only needed to handle Medicaid and not to enforce immigration laws.
