US Edition
Health Care Workers Want ICE Out of Hospitals, and Blue States Are Responding
Hospitals face challenges informing immigrants that ICE accesses Emergency Medicaid data, which covers nearly 80 million people, raising concerns about patient safety and care avoidance.
- Hospitals are weighing whether to notify immigrant patients that ICE may access Medicaid data, which could deter Emergency Medicaid enrollment or leave patients exposed, as some materials do not disclose sharing with ICE.
- The federal government moved last spring to give ICE direct access to a Medicaid database with enrollees' addresses and citizenship, while a December judge limited sharing in the 22 states that sued but allowed broader access in the remaining 28 states.
- Emergency Medicaid dates to the mid-1980s and affected nearly 80 million enrollees, despite hospitals and states' past assurances that data would remain confidential.
- Legal and health experts warn that if hospitals disclose ICE access to Emergency Medicaid data, adults who reported skipping or postponing care may avoid emergency treatment, as Sarah Grusin advised hospitals to be transparent.
- Inconsistencies exist as of recent, with some materials still claiming confidentiality, while Utah removed such language after Jan. 23; HHS and CMS responses remain unclear.
20 Articles
20 Articles
Colorado Newsline
With ICE using Medicaid data, hospitals and states are in a bind over warning immigrant patients
A masked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent knocks on a car window in Minnesota on Jan. 12. (Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer)This article was first published by KFF Health News. The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is putting hospitals and states in a bind as they weigh whether to alert immigrant patients that their personal information, including home addresses, could be used …
ICE Use Of Medicaid Data Puts Hospitals In A Bind – NJ Urban News
Phil Galewitz, KFF Health News and Amanda Seitz February 6, 2026 The Trump administration’s move to give deportation officials access to Medicaid data is putting hospitals and states in a bind as they weigh whether to alert immigrant patients that their personal information, including home addresses, could be used in efforts to remove them from the country. Warning patients could deter them from signing up for a program called Emergency Me…
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