SEATTLE, Wash. – The Health Care Authority (HCA) announced that they are looking for recourse after private Apple Health (Medicaid) data was shared with the Department of Homeland Security.
The data to the Department of Homeland Security includes protected health information of all 1.7 million people in Washington enrolled in Apple Health, according to an announcement by the Washington State HCA.
Eastern Washington is the of Washington’s Apple Health clients.
The Washington State’s HCA said that the data sharing was unethical.
“Anyone seeking health services are in a vulnerable state and their access deserves to be protected. We would never support the use of data submitted for health care purposes being repurposed by federal agencies seeking to unjustly target specific groups of individuals,” they wrote in their announcement.
Data was originally collected by the HCA because it is required by federal law to submit information to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for all individuals enrolled in Apple Health (Medicaid).
HCA has been submitted required data to CMS for its required programs since August 2024, according to the announcement.
HCA said they were not consulted by CMS about sharing this information with other federal agencies, nor were they given the opportunity to review or object.
HCA is reviewing whether they have any recourse related to the sharing of Apple Health data.
