AG Nessel, among 19 other state AGs, succeeded in blocking DHS access to illegal immigrant Medicaid records.

Health IT report:

https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/use-medicaid-data-ice-blocked-20-states

Use of Medicaid data by ICE blocked in 20 states

The Department of Homeland Security may not use Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes and the Department of Health and Human Services may not share the protected patient information, according to a federal court ruling.

By Andrea Fox     |     August 18, 2025 

ICE's access to that medical data has raised concerns that individuals may avoid seeking necessary care out of fear their private information would be shared – compromising public health and potentially increasing states' healthcare costs.

That prompted a multistate lawsuit, which has led to the Department of Homeland Security being precluded from using the Center for Medicaid & Medicare Services' data obtained for immigration enforcement purposes.

That includes data already acquired, until the termination of this litigation or 14 days after DHS and the Department of Health and Human Services complete "a reasoned decisionmaking process," according to the judge's ruling.

WHY IT MATTERS

In the complaint brought against President Donald Trump’s administration last month in Northern California federal court, attorney generals from 20 states – California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – sought to bar use of Medicaid data for immigration enforcement and deportation purposes.

The attorneys general argued that the administration "abruptly changed, without notice, opportunity for public input, or reasoned decision-making" its policy of keeping state Medicaid agencies’ healthcare records confidential in their lawsuit filed July 1.

Because ICE had a policy against using Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes, which had been publicized to states, medical providers and Medicaid patients since 2013, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said he would grant them a partial preliminary injunction.

Medicaid data from several states, which could include Children’s Health Insurance Program data, was shared with ICE officials, according to the complaint.

That action, they argued, would compromise the health of individuals experiencing emergencies and leave states and their safety net hospitals footing the bill for federally mandated emergency healthcare services.

"If members of our community cannot trust that the government will keep their medical history and other personal data safe, they will think twice about going to the doctor when needed," the attorneys general said.

"Congress itself extended coverage and federal funds for emergency Medicaid to all individuals residing in the United States, even those who lack satisfactory immigration status," they noted.

They also asked for immediate relief to protect state data and "to bar the federal government from reneging on the terms of the longstanding State/federal Medicaid partnership," and the judge agreed the attorneys proved their claims that the federal decision to share the PII was arbitrary and capricious.

"It appears that ICE is primarily focused on obtaining current address information for people who are in the country unlawfully," Chhabria wrote. "But CMS appears to have granted ICE unfettered access to all information about all Medicaid patients in the United States, whether citizens or noncitizens."

However, Chhabria denied the plaintiffs' request to require the federal agencies to undertake notice-and-comment rulemaking before deciding whether to change their policies because "several federal statutes appear to permit, and sometimes even require, agencies to provide such information to DHS upon request."

THE LARGER TREND

As part of Trump's executive order, Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders, CMS said in May that it would crack down on Medicaid funding for immigrants and act "decisively" to ensure funds are used for eligible individuals only.

Then in June, federal health agency staff were asked to release personally identifiable information for Medicaid enrollees in seven states – California, New York, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, Minnesota and Colorado – that permit non-U.S. citizens to enroll.

All U.S. states are required to offer temporary emergency Medicaid coverage that pays just for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens, who are lawfully present or not.

But ICE was provided access to the personal data of the 79 million Medicaid enrollees to help track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States, according to a data-sharing agreement between CMS and DHS reportedly obtained by The Associated Press in mid-July.

That agreement allowed ICE to access the data between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, through Sept. 9.

"It’s unthinkable that CMS would violate the trust of Medicaid enrollees in this way," Hannah Katch, a former CMS adviser, had told the AP.

ON THE RECORD

"Everyone should be able to seek medical care without fear of what the federal government may do with that information," said Nick Brown, attorney general of Washington state, in a statement following the injunction.

Gov. Whitmer's response this morning, via MDHHS email to Michigan providers.

All Providers,

The purpose of this communication is to inform all Medicaid Providers that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is currently prohibited by a preliminary injunction from sharing Michigan’s Medicaid data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for immigration enforcement purposes. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has become aware that some Medicaid providers have raised questions and concerns about the recent notices and actions of USDHHS, CMS, and DHS related to demands for and potential use of beneficiary-level State Medicaid data being shared with DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). A hearing is scheduled for December 9, 2025, related to whether USDHHS, CMS, and DHS will continue to be prohibited from using Michigan’s state Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes. MDHHS will provide further notice if there are changes to what is considered permissible use, disclosure, or sharing of Michigan’s Medicaid data by USDHHS or CMS because of this hearing.

 🤔 I am so old I remember being told that illegal immigrants never receive Medicaid benefits. 🤔 

#MeToo. 

Just last month, in fact: a die-hard response to my letter (with citations) in the local paper!

There's no doubt on which side the administrative state falls on this question.

MDHHS today, via email:

All Providers,

The purpose of this communication is to inform all Medicaid Providers that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS), including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), is currently prohibited by a preliminary injunction, that has been extended through January 5, 2026, from sharing Michigan’s Medicaid data with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for immigration enforcement purposes. Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has become aware that some Medicaid providers have raised questions and concerns about the recent notices and actions of USDHHS, CMS, and DHS related to beneficiary-level State Medicaid data being shared with DHS’ Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

MDHHS will provide further notice if there are changes to what is considered permissible use, disclosure, or sharing of Michigan’s Medicaid data by USDHHS or CMS because of any future court actions.

AG Dana Nessel and her secret cabal of Democratic Attorneys General lost in District Court.  Obama Judge Vince Chhabria just ruled that ICE officials can access basic personal information of Medicaid recipients.  Of course nothing will be found, because illegal aliens have no access to Medicaid benefits - right? Right? RIGHT?

https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/judge-rules-trump-admin-can-share-illegal-migrant-medicaid-data-ice

Judge rules Trump admin can share illegal migrant Medicaid data with ICE
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that ICE officials can access six categories of “basic” personal information: Address, citizenship, immigration status, phone number, date of birth and Medicaid ID.
By Misty Severi - December 29, 2025

A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration can share Medicaid information pertaining to illegal migrants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers next month.

The ruling comes after 22 Democratic states sued to stop the government from sharing the information in July, which was granted while the case played out. The liberal states can still appeal the ruling.

The order approved an agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security in July that allowed ICE officials to access the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses, to track down the illegal migrants.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled that ICE officials can access six categories of “basic” personal information: Address, citizenship, immigration status, phone number, date of birth and Medicaid ID.

“The sharing of such information is clearly authorized by law and the agencies have adequately explained their decisions,” Chhabria wrote in the seven-page order. “Beyond the basic information discussed above, the policies are totally unclear and do not appear to be the product of a coherent decision-making process."

The order, which is limited to migrants known to be in the country illegally, comes because seven blue states allow migrants to receive state funds through their respective Medicaid programs, but not federal ones.

The seven blue states are: California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon and Washington.

@mhf 

This is nothing new. The states all KNEW that when the Marketplace was being set up, the Feds were only going to fund it for 3 years. After the 3 years were up, the states were going to have to find the means to fund it themselves. The states brought this on themselves and tried to fix the problems on the backs of the taxpayers. They forgot that with federal dollars come federal strings...and HUGE increases for people once the subsidies were gone. 

@cj1954 you know it.

if they didn't know, they should have. Still, Michigan legislators at the time claimed that the feds promised full ongoing Healthy Michigan funding.

Then, those same legislators appeased voter concerns by putting the conditional "drop-out" clause in so that "Michigan would never be on the hook for expanded Medicaid."

Phase 3 was predictable. Last term, Michigan legislators repealed the drop-out clause. (As they did the able-bodied work requirement.)

So my question is: back in the day, were pro-expansion legislators forgetful, ignorant, or just overcome by wishful thinking with the dollar signs in their eyes?

https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/hotlines/federal-spending-on-obamacare-has-doubled-since-2020/

Federal Spending on Obamacare Has DOUBLED Since 2020

• December 30, 2025

We noted this in the HOTLINE several weeks ago with our back of the envelope math. Now, we have validation from Johns Hopkins Professor Ge Bai and TCU Professor Elizabeth Plummer in the WSJ:

Using health insurers’ mandatory filings, our study, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum, shows that the ObamaCare individual market has become a money pit for taxpayers. In 2024 they paid nearly 80% of the premiums for subsidized plans–compared with only 30% in 2014.

Taxpayers paid more than $114 billion directly to insurers in 2024–one-third more after inflation than in 2023, more than double the amount in 2020 (before the enhanced subsidies), and more than six times as much as in 2014. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this acceleration continued in 2025.

The chart below from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2843117&source=gmail&ust=1767193329240000&usg=AOvVaw2y3GX69VMzDoDACrJMbDV u">the JAMA study shows that premiums have exploded in plans that receive subsidies and the increase was entirely at taxpayer expense.  That is the red portion of the chart. But premiums have been flat in unsubsidized plans.

There’s an economic lesson here: if you subsidize something, you get more of it.

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