California Sues Trump Admin Again, This Time Over Medicaid Data Transfer To Dhs

California is starring a conjugation pinch 19 different states successful a suit against nan Trump administration for transferring Medicaid information to nan Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  

Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta said nan national suit revenge Tuesday successful nan Northern District of California represents nan 28th clip successful 23 weeks – aliases much than erstwhile a week – that California is challenging nan president successful court. 

"Upon accusation and belief, nan U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)’s Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) handed complete a trove of individuals’ protected wellness information obtained from States, including California, Illinois, and Washington, to different national agencies, including nan Department of Homeland Security (DHS)," nan title says. "Millions of individuals’ wellness accusation was transferred without their consent, and successful usurpation of national law."

Those states let non-U.S. citizens to enroll successful Medicaid programs that they opportunity salary for their expenses utilizing only authorities payer dollars. The Associated Press first reported past period that nan sharing of information by HHS to DHS included addresses, names, societal information numbers, migration position and claims information for enrollees successful those states. 

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California Attorney General Rob Bonta is starring a conjugation of 20 authorities attorneys wide successful a caller suit against nan Trump management revenge Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

"In doing so, nan Trump management silently destroyed longstanding guardrails that protected nan public’s delicate wellness information and restricted its usage only for purposes that Congress has authorized, violating national laws including nan requirements of nan Administrative Procedure Act (APA)," nan suit says. The title alleges violations of respective different national privateness laws, including nan Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known arsenic HIPPA.

HHS has claimed that nan transportation of information to DHS is meant "to guarantee that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to person them." 

"But Congress itself extended sum and national costs for emergency Medicaid to each individuals domiciled successful nan United States, moreover those who deficiency satisfactory migration status," nan title says. "The States person and will proceed to verify individuals’ eligibility for federally funded Medicaid services utilizing established national systems and cooperate pinch national oversight activities to guarantee that nan national authorities pays only for those Medicaid services that are legally authorized." 

Attorneys wide from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington joined nan suit.

"President Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are weaponizing Medicaid to substance their anti-immigration campaign," Bonta said astatine a virtual property conference. "They’re threatening nan individual wellness information of 78.4 cardinal individuals who are enrolled successful Medicaid and nan children’s wellness security program, CHIP, for their wide surveillance and national migration enforcement plans."

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem attends a roundtable chat aft touring a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located astatine nan tract of nan Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport successful Ochopee, Florida, connected July 1, 2025. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

"This isn’t astir cutting discarded aliases going aft fraud," Bonta said. "This is astir going aft susceptible group who entrusted nan authorities and nan national authorities to thief them entree wellness care, a basal quality right."

The title says they intend to "protect their State Medicaid programs, and to forestall them from being utilized successful work of an anti-immigrant crusade, aliases different purposes unrelated to management of those programs." 

Fox News Digital reached retired to DHS for remark connected nan lawsuit, but they did not instantly respond. An HHS spokesperson reacted to nan suit successful statements obtained by Politico and nan AP.

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HHS is "aggressively cracking down connected states that whitethorn beryllium misusing national Medicaid costs to subsidize attraction for forbidden immigrants - that includes California," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon reportedly said. "This oversight effort – supported by lawful interagency information sharing pinch DHS – is focused connected identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse."

He added, "HHS acted wholly wrong its ineligible authority – and successful afloat compliance pinch each applicable laws – to guarantee that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to person them."

The plaintiffs declare their states "will suffer national costs arsenic fearfulness and disorder stemming from nan disclosures origin noncitizens and their family members to disenroll, aliases garbage to enroll, successful emergency Medicaid for which they are different eligible, leaving States and their information nett hospitals to ft nan measure for federally mandated emergency healthcare services." 

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies earlier nan House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee connected June 24, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

"States will besides yet carnivore nan antagonistic nationalist wellness costs associated pinch reduced utilization of healthcare for childbirth and different emergency conditions," nan title says. "Meanwhile, nan nationalist will suffer irreparable harm owed to accrued morbidity and mortality."

Bonta noted California’s Medi-Cal programme provides nationalist healthcare sum for 1 retired of each 3 Californians, including much than 2 cardinal noncitizens. Because not each noncitizens are eligible for federally funded Medi-Cal services, California uses state-only costs to supply a type of nan Medi-Cal programme to each eligible authorities residents, "regardless of their migration status," he said. 

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"The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privateness protections pinch its determination to illegally stock sensitive, individual wellness information pinch ICE. In doing so, it has created a civilization of fearfulness that will lead to less group seeking captious emergency aesculapian care," Bonta added successful a statement. "I’m sickened by this latest salvo successful nan President’s anti-immigrant campaign. We’re headed to tribunal to forestall immoderate further sharing of Medicaid information — and to guarantee immoderate of nan information that’s already been shared is not utilized for migration enforcement purposes."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.