AG Nick Brown joins lawsuit, says you shouldn’t be deported just for seeing a doctor

Washington has joined a multi-state lawsuit, accusing the federal government of obtaining private health care information in order to find and deport undocumented immigrants.

In a break with past practice, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department is providing the Department of Homeland Security unrestricted access to Medicaid data gathered by states, according to Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown.

“Washington residents expect that the confidential information they give to the government to access medical treatment will only be used for health care purposes,” Brown said.

AG Nick Brown sues over claims of ICE using health care data

Washington’s Medicaid program operates as Apple Health. Brown acknowledges that, of the more than 1.9 million Apple Health clients in Washington, 49,000 are ineligible for some federally funded programs because of their immigration status. He added that since 1986, Congress has extended coverage and federal funds for emergency Medicaid to all residents, regardless of immigration status.

“I wholeheartedly support AG Brown in this effort and think more elected officials — Democrats and Republicans — should be taking stronger actions pushing back against Trump for using ICE to punish his enemies, erode civil liberties, and override the authority of local governments,” former King County Sheriff John Urquhart wrote in a statement to MyNorthwest Tuesday.

Federal government says it’s making sure benefits go to those legally entitled

The federal government argues it’s trying to make sure benefits only go to individuals who are legally entitled to them, and the Trump administration has consistently said it’s targeting fraud, waste, and abuse in the Medicaid system.

In a statement, Brown indicated private medical information, gathered by Medicaid, could be shared in narrow circumstances to benefit public health and maintain the integrity of the Medicaid program.

But he appeared to accuse the federal government of having a different motive for gathering the data of Medicaid recipients.

“Their data should not go towards creating a giant database of Americans’ personal information or used so that ICE can deport undocumented immigrants because they had to go to the doctor,” Brown stated.

A coalition of states is arguing that the Trump administration is violating procedural and privacy laws and is asking the courts to prevent the Department of Homeland Security from using Medicaid data to conduct immigration enforcement.

States that have joined the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island, and California.

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