Case: NATIONAL HEALTH LAW PROGRAM v. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

1:26-cv-01200 | U.S. District Court for the District of District of Columbia

Filed Date: April 9, 2026

Case Ongoing

Clearinghouse coding in progress

Case Summary

[This summary is ongoing while we research the case.] The National Health Law Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting health rights of low-income and underserved people, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 9, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged that HHS and CMS historically did not share personal information collected fr…

[This summary is ongoing while we research the case.]

The National Health Law Program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting health rights of low-income and underserved people, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 9, 2026, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. The complaint alleged that HHS and CMS historically did not share personal information collected from Medicaid participants with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but abruptly changed course in the summer of 2025 and began sharing Medicaid data with ICE for immigration enforcement purposes. The plaintiff claimed that since this policy change, the defendants failed to disclose the full nature and scope of the information that has been or will be provided to ICE. The organization brought two counts under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), alleging that defendants failed to conduct adequate searches for responsive records and wrongfully withheld non-exempt responsive records. The plaintiff sought court orders requiring proper searches and production of records, injunctive relief, attorneys' fees, and other appropriate relief.

Summary Authors

Jinan Abufarha (4/12/2026)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73167177/parties/national-health-law-program-v-us-department-of-health-and-human-services/


Judge(s)

McFadden, Trevor Neil (District of Columbia)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Sparks, Benjamin A. (District of Columbia)

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

Document
1

1:26-cv-01200

Complaint

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73167177/national-health-law-program-v-us-department-of-health-and-human-services/

Last updated April 14, 2026, 3:05 a.m.

ECF Number Description Date Link Date / Link
1

COMPLAINT against All Defendants ( Filing fee $ 405 receipt number ADCDC-12350434) filed by NATIONAL HEALTH LAW PROGRAM. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Exhibit C, # 4 Exhibit D, # 5 Exhibit E, # 6 Civil Cover Sheet, # 7 Summons to USAO, # 8 Summons to USAG, # 9 Summons to HHS, # 10 Summons to CMS)(Sparks, Benjamin) (Attachment 6 replaced on 4/9/2026) (zjm). (Entered: 04/09/2026)

1 Exhibit A

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2 Exhibit B

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3 Exhibit C

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4 Exhibit D

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5 Exhibit E

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6 Civil Cover Sheet

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7 Summons to USAO

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8 Summons to USAG

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9 Summons to HHS

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10 Summons to CMS

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April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

Clearinghouse
2

LCvR 26.1 CERTIFICATE OF DISCLOSURE of Corporate Affiliations and Financial Interests by NATIONAL HEALTH LAW PROGRAM (Sparks, Benjamin) (Entered: 04/09/2026)

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

3

SUMMONS (4) Issued Electronically as to CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, U.S. Attorney and U.S. Attorney General (Attachments: # 1 Notice and Consent)(zjm) (Entered: 04/09/2026)

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

4

.Order

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

Case Assigned/Reassigned

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

Case Assigned to Judge Trevor N. McFadden. (zjm)

April 9, 2026

April 9, 2026

5

Notice of Appearance

April 13, 2026

April 13, 2026

Case Details

State / Territory:

District of Columbia

Case Type(s):

Privacy

Immigration and/or the Border

Special Collection(s):

Trump Administration 2.0: Challenges to the Government

Key Dates

Filing Date: April 9, 2026

Case Ongoing: Yes

Case Details

Other Dockets:

District of District of Columbia 1:26-cv-01200

Recommended Citation