States report Medicaid outage amid federal funding drama
WASHINGTON - A federal judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's freeze on federal grants and loans on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan blocked the action minutes before it was set to go into effect.
The White House had planned to start the pause as they begin an across-the-board ideological review of federal spending.
The plan sparked confusion and panic among organizations that rely on Washington for their financial lifeline.
Administration officials have said federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, student loans and scholarships.
Medicaid portals down
Earlier on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and other state officials claimed that Medicaid portals were down in the U.S., following Trump’s pause on federal funding.
"My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze," the senator from Oregon said on the social media platform X on Tuesday. "This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed."
At a news conference announcing a lawsuit aimed at blocking the pause, Attorney General Letitia James said Head Start funding was frozen in Michigan, access to child development block grants was cut off in Maryland and at least 20 states have been unable to access Medicaid reimbursement systems, including New York.
"There is no question this policy is reckless, dangerous, illegal and unconstitutional," said James, who was joined on the call by five other Democratic state attorneys general.
White House press secretary questioned about Medicaid
White House Press Sec. Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the White House was "aware of the Medicaid website portal outage" and said no payments were being affected at this time.
"We expect the portal will be back online shortly," Leavitt said in an X post on Tuesday.
During the White House press briefing earlier, a reporter pressed Leavitt about the issue, saying, "It wasn't clear to me whether you were saying that no Medicaid would be cut off. Obviously, a lot of this goes to states before it goes to individuals and so forth, so are you guaranteeing here that no individual now on Medicaid would see a cut-off because of the cost?"
Leavitt had responded, "I'll check back on that and get back to you." She then ignored a shouted question about the Medicaid portals being down as she left the podium.
Federal funding paused
The backstory:
Trump issued a directive on Monday to temporarily suspend all federal grants and loans, a move that could impact trillions of dollars in government funding and disrupt vital public programs relied upon by millions of Americans.
According to the White House memo, the suspension would begin on Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. EST.
(File: Dzonsli / Getty Images)
The memo, written by Matthew J. Vaeth, the acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, said federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance including, but not limited to, "financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology and the Green New Deal."
Administration officials said the decision was necessary to ensure that all funding complies with Trump's executive orders.
What is impacted by federal funding freeze
During the press briefing, Levitt said federal assistance to individuals would not be affected, including Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, food stamps, welfare benefits, student loans and scholarships.
What they're saying:
"If you are receiving individual assistance from the federal government, you will still continue to receive that," Leavitt said. "However, it is the responsibility of this president and this administration to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
The suspension specifically targets financial assistance related to financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, diversity and equity and the Green New Deal.
What we don't know:
However, the sweeping scope of the freeze has raised concerns about possible disruptions to educational funding, with education programs potentially being impacted. It also became unclear Tuesday whether Medicaid would be affected, since it is a joint federal and state program.
Medicare vs Medicaid
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Medicare is federal health insurance for people 65 or older, and some people under 65 with certain disabilities or conditions. A federal agency called the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services runs Medicare. Because it’s a federal program, Medicare has set standards for costs and coverage. This means a person’s Medicare coverage will be the same no matter what state they live in.
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Medicare-related bills are paid from two trust funds held by the U.S. Treasury. Different sources (including payroll taxes and funds that Congress authorizes) fund the trust funds. People with Medicare pay part of the costs through things like monthly premiums for medical and drug coverage, deductibles and coinsurance.
Meanwhile, Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income and resources. The federal government has general rules that all state Medicaid programs must follow, but each state runs its own program. This means eligibility requirements and benefits can vary from state to state.
HHS also said that Medicaid offers benefits that Medicare doesn’t normally cover, like nursing home care and personal care services. People with Medicaid usually don’t pay anything for covered medical expenses but may owe a small co-payment for some items or services.