The state agency that runs Colorado’s Medicaid program won’t say whether it will turn over requested data about enrollees to the Trump administration — information that could be used to track down undocumented people for deportation.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services last week handed over personal information about Medicaid enrollees — including immigration status — to the Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Associated Press reported, citing an internal memo and emails.
The data turned over to Homeland Security included information about residents of California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C. The federal departments haven’t announced whether they have located and detained any undocumented immigrants based on that Medicaid data.
Those states, like Colorado, use Medicaid to cover some undocumented people with state money. The federal government covers at least half the cost of Medicaid-funded care to qualifying U.S. citizens through matching funds.
Starting this year, Colorado offered Medicaid coverage to undocumented children and pregnant women. The state also allows a limited number of undocumented people to buy subsidized health insurance on the marketplace through its OmniSalud program.
The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced late last month that it was reviewing some states’ Medicaid enrollees to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with “unsatisfactory immigration status.”
As part of the review, California, Washington and Illinois shared details about non-U. S. citizens who have enrolled in their state’s Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Medicaid Deputy Director Sara Vitolo that was obtained by the AP.
The data includes addresses, names, Social Security numbers and claims data for enrollees in those states, according to the memo and two people familiar with what the states sent to CMS and what was shared with DHS.
Seven states, along with the District of Columbia, allow immigrants who are not living legally in the country to enroll in their state’s Medicaid program. The states launched these programs during the Biden administration and said they would not bill the federal government to cover those immigrants’ health care costs.
Colorado, New York, Oregon and Minnesota have not yet submitted the identifiable data to CMS as part of the review, according to a public health official who has reviewed CMS’ requests to the states.
Gov. Jared Polis’s office deferred questions about the Medicaid data to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing.
Marc Williams, a spokesman for the agency, which runs Colorado’s Medicaid program, said the state is reviewing the federal data request and developing a plan. He didn’t specify whether the plan would involve turning over at least some data, or if the state is considering refusing the request.
If CMS found federal money was going toward undocumented immigrants’ care, it wouldn’t need Homeland Security to halt those payments. The agency pushed back against the data-sharing order, but the Department of Health and Human Services overruled its objections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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