The Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services published notice of a data-matching program with the Department of Homeland Security to share data related to applicants’ citizenship and immigration status for HHS eligibility determinations. The program will allow these government agencies to share personally identifiable information (PII) of HHS applicants and enrollees to determine the applicant’s eligibility for enrollment in health insurance plans established under the Affordable Care Act. The relevant PII that will be shared between these agencies includes name, date of birth, Alien Registration Numbers, I-94 Arrival/Departure Records, SEVIS ID, foreign passport numbers, and other immigration-related information such as the individual’s country of birth and details of USCIS employment authorizations. The program is committed to complying with all requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, including notification to affected individuals and fail-safes to verify findings before taking adverse action such as suspending or terminating the enrollee’s HHS benefits.
The comment period for this notice ends on October 6, 2023. This program is expected to begin around October 20, 2023, for an initial term of 18 months, with the possibility for a 1-year renewal in 2025. If an error is discovered in immigration records, a Privacy Act amendment request may be submitted in writing to USCIS’s FOIA/PA Office in Lee’s Summit, MO.
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