Opinion: Sharing the immigration status of Medicaid patients betrays Hippocratic oath

AS A PHYSICIAN, I never imagined that Medicaid — our nation’s cornerstone public health insurance program — could turn into a tool for immigration enforcement. But this month that’s precisely what happened. That should alarm every American who believes in the sanctity of health care privacy, the protection of the vulnerable, and the Hippocratic oath doctors swear to uphold.

According to an internal memo obtained by the Associated Press, the Trump administration directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to hand over personal health data, including the immigration status of millions of Medicaid enrollees, to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This transfer occurred despite objections from CMS officials and appears to violate multiple federal privacy laws, including the Social Security Act and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).