Federal officials are asking for personal data from Oregon’s Medicaid-funded health plan as part of a nationwide crackdown on undocumented immigrants, The Lund Report has learned.
The request follows reports that the Trump administration has already shared similar data from other states with immigration authorities, sparking legal and ethical concerns, according to the Associated Press.
This move is part of a broader campaign targeting undocumented immigrants. Combined with the administration’s refusal to follow Congressional budgets, honor contracts, or obey court rulings (except those from the Supreme Court), the crackdown is fueling protests nationwide.
So far, Oregon hasn’t handed over any data. The state has until July 30 to respond. When asked, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) didn’t say if it would comply. A spokesperson said the agency “will continue to evaluate the CMS request.”
Gov. Tina Kotek’s office also declined to comment on the state’s next move.
It’s unclear if the request includes data from the Healthier Oregon program, which covers over 100,000 undocumented people using only state funds.
On Friday, the AP reported that Trump appointees dismissed objections to sharing Medicaid data with Homeland Security.
So far, federal officials have accessed enrollee data from California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.—all states with state-funded healthcare for undocumented residents. Federal law generally bars using Medicaid dollars for undocumented individuals, except in emergencies.
Now they want Oregon’s data, too.
A formal request arrived last week from federal health officials investigating “unsatisfactory immigration status.”
According to documents obtained under Oregon Public Records Law, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asked for info on any federally funded claims—excluding emergency Medicaid, which is allowed in certain situations. They also requested a meeting in June to discuss further.
Along with standard financial data, CMS requested personally identifiable information—something the OHA says is “atypical.”
Earlier this year, Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi told The Lund Report her team was reviewing how to protect patient data after Trump’s election. It’s unclear what came of that effort.
An OHA spokesperson said the agency protects member data “to the greatest extent permitted by law,” citing state and federal confidentiality laws, including Oregon’s sanctuary law.
“We don’t voluntarily share personally identifiable information and only do so when required by law,” the spokesperson said.
Normally, the Office of Inspector General audits Medicaid spending. But this request came from a CMS financial oversight employee based in Texas—not from OIG.
The Trump administration has threatened to pull Medicaid funding from states like Oregon that provide healthcare regardless of immigration status.
If that happens, costs could shift from the state to hospitals, private insurance, and individual health plans—driving up premiums. It could also force more people to use emergency rooms instead of primary care, which costs far more, The Lund Report previously noted.
