Nashville judge temporarily blocks immigration status checks in HIV/AIDS program

A Nashville judge temporarily blocked Tennessee health officials from requiring immigration status checks of HIV-positive individuals enrolled in a healthcare safety-net program. 

Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles issued the temporary restraining order late Wednesday. The order prevents the Tennessee Department of Health from moving forward with a demand that organizations revise their contracts to include immigration status verification as a condition of serving patients in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program.

The order extends to a companion program known as HOPWA, or Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS. Myles set a Nov. 4 hearing in the case.

The decades-old, federally-funded Ryan White program provides millions of dollars to every U.S. state to serve low-income individuals living with HIV/AIDS. States in turn distribute funding to healthcare and other providers who work directly with patients.

On Oct. 1, the Tennessee health department sent a memo to these providers citing new state law that requires verifying anyone seeking federal, state or local public benefits to be lawfully present in the United States. The law also comes with criminal penalties for employees who fail to verify patient status.

Nashville CARES, one of the Tennessee’s largest participants in the program, filed suit challenging the mandate earlier this week.  The federal government does not require immigration status checks as a condition of receiving services through Ryan White or HOPWA and federal law exempts such checks for programs targeting communicable diseases, it noted in legal filings. 

Lawsuit: Tennessee to impose immigration checks in HIV/AIDS safety-net program

Hundreds of its patients would be at risk of losing life-saving medical, prescription drug and support services — including financial assistance that pays the costs of private health insurance, Nashville CARES said in legal filings.

Represented by attorneys with the Tennessee Justice Center, the organization said the mandate violated state rule-making procedures and federal law. 

Attorneys representing the Tennessee Department of Health objected to a temporary injunction in a legal response to Nashville CARES’ initial petition. They argued that Nashville CARES was “essentially (asking) the Court to intervene in a contract dispute.” State attorneys also disputed the right of Nashville CARES to broadly challenge the state’s imposition of the new contract rules on all Tennessee organizations that participate in Ryan White program, arguing the case should focus only on Nashville CARES’ dispute. 

Myles’ temporary restraining order applies to all organizations that contract with the state to provide Ryan White services. 

The order blocks any effort to require immigration or citizenship status verification for any individual currently enrolled in the program, and any new applicant. Myles also blocked the state from restricting enrollment only to those able to provide proof of legal immigration or citizenship status. 

The temporary restraining order