Overview

• The transfer on June 10 delivered names, addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration statuses and claims data under a 54-minute directive from HHS.
• Career officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services warned sharing the information would breach the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, but were overruled by two senior advisers.
• The dataset covers residents in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which run state-funded Medicaid programs open to noncitizens.
• HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon defended the action as lawful and necessary to reserve Medicaid benefits for individuals lawfully entitled to them.
• Immigrant advocates, civil rights groups and California Governor Gavin Newsom have condemned the move as potentially unlawful and have organized protests to defend privacy rights.