Attorney General Kris Mayes is taking a stand against the Trump Administration in a multistate lawsuit over the alleged illegal sharing of Arizonans' private health information. According to a press release from the Arizona Attorney General, the lawsuit, filed in the Northern District of California, accuses the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of overstepping legal bounds by providing the Department of Homeland Security access to personal health data from Medicaid recipients.
In a detailed accusation, the attorneys general are claiming that the federal government has chosen to illegally to transfer millions of individual's health records. The data in question originates from Medicaid files, and such a move would violate the privacy safeguards that have been standard for decades. "The illegal transfer of Arizonans' private, personally identifiable health data is unacceptable," Mayes said, pointing out the violation of trust that Arizonans have placed in the confidentiality of their Medicaid services, as stated by the Arizona Attorney General.
The Medicaid program, an essential part of healthcare for low-income individuals, has traditionally guarded beneficiaries' data, sharing it only under specific circumstances aligned with public health and program integrity. Arizona's AHCCCS, the state's largest insurer, relies on these federal protections to safeguard the data covering more than 2 million people. This trust appears broken now, given the June 13, revelation that HHS had widely disclosed Medicaid data, as reported, to aid in "mass deportations" and extensive immigration enforcement activities, as reported by the Arizona Attorney General.
The states involved in the lawsuit argue that this move not only breaks the law but also sows fear and confusion, potentially causing eligible noncitizens to avoid essential emergency Medicaid services. This could ultimately leave states and local hospitals to unfairly cover the costs for emergency services that are federally mandated. "These individuals may not get the emergency health services they need and will suffer negative health consequences — and even death — as a result," states the coalition in the legal complaint they have filed, as per the Arizona Attorney General.
The lawsuit requests that the court find the Trump Administration's actions unlawful and in violation of multiple federal acts, including the Administrative Procedure Act, Social Security Act, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Federal Information Security Modernization Act, and Privacy Act. It seeks to prevent HHS from further data transfers to DHS or any other agency and to bar DHS from using this data in immigration enforcement. The Arizona Attorney General stands united with his counterparts in numerous states, including California, New York, and Illinois, reflecting widespread concern over this alleged breach of privacy.
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