Akashma Online News

When Trusting Your Doctor Means Trusting DHS Too

By Marivel Guzman – Akashma News

Today, Orange County Health Care Agency released a statement that reads like a privacy horror story dressed in bureaucratic politeness.

For Immediate Release: July 18, 2025 Contact: OC Health Care Agency, Communications Email: Press@ochca.com

Here’s the essence:
ICE may have direct access to Medi-Cal data—your data—including names, addresses, and medical histories. The goal? Reportedly, to help locate and identify non–U.S. citizens.

OC HCA says they’re “engaging with federal partners” to understand the scope of the issue. In other words: they’re not the ones pulling the strings, just the ones who handed over the spool.

Worried? Rightfully so.Because even if you disenroll from Medi-Cal, the agency confirms: your data stays in the system. Your digital footprint is already mapped—by public health and, it seems, by federal enforcement.

And here’s the irony—they close their statement with a touching promise:

“We remain firmly committed to protecting public trust and upholding the privacy rights of every person we serve.”

Except now those “privacy rights” seem to come with a footnote big enough to deport you.This isn’t just a data breach. It’s a breach of trust.And for millions of undocumented patients who turned to Medi-Cal in good faith, it’s a chilling reminder: care may heal—but the system still harms.