Democratic senators demand HHS stop sharing Medicaid info with ICE

A group of Democratic senators accused the Trump administration of violating a court order and demanded officials immediately stop sharing Medicaid data that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) use for deportation proceedings. 

According to Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) admitted to sharing protected Medicaid information of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents to immigration enforcement authorities on three separate occasions, in violation of a court injunction. 

“The Trump administration’s lawlessness and abuse of sensitive health information brazenly infringes on enrollee privacy,” the senators wrote in separate letters to HHS and DHS. 

They demanded HHS immediately stop “unlawfully transferring Medicaid data to DHS and ICE,” and called for DHS to immediately stop “unlawfully receiving Medicaid data transfers from HHS.” 

The senators accused the administration of........

© The Hill