States Share Health Data With Big Tech

All twenty state-run healthcare marketplaces in the United States are reportedly including advertising trackers that share user information with prominent technology companies. Seven million Americans utilized these state exchanges in 2026 to purchase health insurance, and many may have had personal details disclosed.

The data transmitted to companies such as Meta, TikTok, and Google can include specifics like ZIP codes, sex, and citizenship status. Trackers on Medicaid-related pages in Rhode Island, for instance, could reveal financial vulnerability. Similarly, Spanish-language pages in Maryland aimed at noncitizen pregnant individuals and DACA recipients were found to be sharing data.

While the extent to which this information is used for targeted advertising is unclear, it may influence the content platforms serve users. This follows prior investigations in 2022 that found similar ad trackers on hospital networks and revelations that Meta has used emotional state data for ad targeting.

Meta states it filters sensitive data and holds advertisers responsible for what they share. However, the opaqueness of data collection and sharing persists, though some states have begun removing trackers following the recent report.