The lawsuit, filed on 2/7 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that this action violates federal law and threatens the privacy of millions. Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta stated that this is the 28th time in 23 weeks that California has challenged the Trump administration in court.

The lawsuit claims, "Upon information and belief, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has transferred a repository of protected health information, collected from states including California, Illinois, and Washington, to other federal agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)." This transfer of millions of individuals' health information without their consent is a violation of federal law, the plaintiffs allege.

These states allow non-citizens to enroll in Medicaid, funded by state taxes, to cover emergency services. The Associated Press (AP) previously reported that the data HHS shared with DHS includes enrollees' names, addresses, social security numbers, immigration status, and claims data.

"In so doing, the Trump administration has quietly broken down the barriers Congress erected to protect sensitive health information and limit its use, violating federal law, including the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)," the lawsuit states. It also alleges violations of other federal laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which strictly regulates the protection and non-disclosure of personal health data without consent.

HHS argues that the data sharing is to "ensure that Medicaid benefits are only available to those who are lawfully eligible." However, the lawsuit counters that Congress expanded emergency Medicaid coverage to all U.S. residents, including those without legal immigration status.

The lawsuit asserts, "States are and will continue to verify enrollee eligibility through existing federal systems and cooperate with oversight activities to ensure that only lawful services are federally reimbursed."

Attorneys general from 19 other states have joined the lawsuit: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.

Bonta argues that President Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem, and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are turning Medicaid into a tool for their anti-immigration campaign and threatening the privacy of 78.4 million Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) enrollees to carry out mass surveillance plans.

"This isn’t about fighting fraud or cutting costs. This is about persecuting vulnerable people who have entrusted the state and federal governments with access to their data in order to receive health care, a basic human right," Bonta said.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, 24/6. Photo: AOL

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, 24/6. Photo: AOL

The lawsuit contends that this practice could frighten legal immigrants or their families from enrolling in or remaining enrolled in emergency Medicaid, to which they are legally entitled. This would leave states and hospitals to bear the costs of mandated emergency treatment.

The lawsuit states, "States will face increased public health costs from decreased access to maternal or other emergency health care. Individuals will suffer adverse health outcomes from increased rates of sickness and death."

Bonta noted that California's Medi-Cal program currently covers about one-third of the state's population, including more than two million non-citizens. For those ineligible for federal assistance, California uses its own funds to provide a separate version of Medi-Cal to all eligible residents, regardless of immigration status.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon countered that CMS, under Dr. Mehmet Oz, is "actively monitoring states that may have improperly used federal Medicaid funds to care for illegal immigrants."

He maintained that HHS has acted within existing law to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for those legally eligible, protecting both taxpayer dollars and the integrity of one of the nation's most important programs.

Thuc Linh (According to AP)