Ca Governor Lambaste Trump for having given officials of the deportation of data on the health of immigrants – Calm

By Kristen HwangCalm

This story was initially published by Calm. Register For their newsletters.

Calling the move “legally doubtful” and “abuse”, Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the Trump administration after reports has surfaced that personal medical information – including immigration status – is shared with expulsion officials.

The Governor’s comments are intervening that protests against immigration and customs raids are organized in some parts of downtown Los Angeles for the eighth consecutive day.

According to the Associated PressThe Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ordered Federal for Medicare centers and Medicaid to give the Department of Immigration of Internal Security and other medical data for millions of non-citizens. The transfer of data includes information on registered in California and other states which allow immigrants without legal status to register for health services, according to the AP.

The order reverses the longtime federal policy which prohibits the agency which oversees the country’s public health programs to share data on private registrations with other federal agencies.

During the first Trump administration, many groups that help people with MEDI-CAL registration high levels of high mistrust towards government programs and the decline in registrations Due to the fear it can be used to refuse citizenship requests or initiate expulsion procedures.

“The sharing of information on the beneficiaries of Medicaid with the Ministry of Internal Security – which is itself legally doubtful – will endanger the security, health and security of those who will undoubtedly be targeted by these abuses and the Americans more widely,” Newsom said in a press release.

In a letter sent to the States last month, the administrator of Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, said that he put the states “in opinion” that he would no longer allow “federal dollars to divert” for the health care of immigrants.

“Medicaid is not and cannot be, a stolen door to subsidize open borders,” Oz said in a press release accompanying the letter.

Trump administration officials, of which Oz previously said without evidence that states like California illegally use federal money to pay for immigrant health care.

The Newsom Office has confirmed that the State Medicaid Agency, the Ministry of Health Services, responded earlier this year to a request for federal data to show that the State did not use federal funds, which cannot be used to pay health services for immigrants without legal status.

Six other states and the Columbia district allow immigrants to register for certain state -funded health programs, but none is as vast as that of California. All states are required to provide emergency medications to immigrants.

California is currently using more than $ 8.5 billion in state annual income to provide coverage to around 1.6 million immigrants via Medi-Cal, the MEDICAID state version.

Throughout the state, organizations representing doctors, community clinics, other health service providers and patients condemned the sharing of personal data with the application of immigration.

Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant, president of California Medical Association, qualified the actions of the Trump administration as “reckless”.

“We strongly support access to health care for all and are deeply disturbed to learn that the federal government no longer protects patients with patients and uses Medicaid data in a way that will make people less safe and less likely to seek medically necessary health care,” said Udovic-Constant in a press release.

The National Health Law Program, a legal non -profit organization, said that federal law protects the confidentiality of personal identification and health information. By sharing the data with the application of immigration, the Trump administration “is a tough test on the legal protection of the foundation”, according to the press release.

“Medicaid exists to guarantee access to vital health care,” said Kim Lewis, Director of California Policy for the Law Program. “People who need health care should be able to get it without fear of ice raids.”

State senator Jesse ArreguínAn Oakland Democrat, said the implications of federal officials sharing medical information with the police go far beyond the application of immigration – they may have an impact on people’s privacy rights for healthcare and transgender abortions.

Arreguín pushes a measure to Protect patients in health establishments After the Trump administration has canceled a Biden era policy which limited the activity of the ice in Schools, churches and hospitals. The measure would oblige health establishments to prevent the application of immigration from entering non -public zones without a mandate and obliges them to train personnel how to react.

“Health care is a human right, and whoever should be able to seek access without worrying that his private life is raped,” he said.

The Newsom office did not say if he planned to continue to block the use of Medicaid data for the application of immigration. But spokesperson Elana Ross said in a statement that the administration “would explore all the ways to protect the information and security of the Californians”.

Californian officials, including the Ministry of Health Services, have long reassured immigrants without legal status that their data is not shared with federal agencies for the application of immigration.

The State Health Care Services Department refused to answer questions about sending information to the federal government, by directing calmatters to the Newsom Declaration.

Supported by California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which strives to ensure that people have access to the care they need when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to find out more.

This article was Originally published on Calmatters and was republished under the Assignment of creative-noderivatives-noderivatives license.