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White House says assistance going directly to people won’t be affected by temporary pause.
A federal funding freeze apparently has stopped states from accessing the Medicaid portals they use to get funding, according to multiple news outlets and lawmakers.
As for a solution, Reuters reported “White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the White House was aware of the Medicaid program’s online portal outage and said it would be back online soon.” No payments were affected, according to that report.
"Social Security benefits, Medicare benefits, food stamps, welfare benefits, assistance that is going directly to individuals will not be impacted by this pause," Leavitt said during her first White House press conference, as reported by ABC News. Even so, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced she would lead a group of state attorneys general suing the administration over the funding freeze, according to ABC News.
Apart from the state attorneys general, online news outlet Democracy Docket reported a group of nonprofits, public health organizations and small businesses went to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a temporary restraining order to block the provisions of the OMB memo.
Meanwhile, a federal judge blocked action by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to freeze spending; that action must wait until at least Feb. 3, according to a ruling late afternoon Jan. 28, according to Politico.
Medicaid had more than 72 million enrollees, with another 7.24 million people enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) as of October 2024. Enrollment extended to all 50 sates and the District of Columbia, according to Medicaid.gov.
It was not immediately clear exactly how the move could affect physician reimbursement. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-New York) noted hospitals were among the callers as “senators’ phones have been ringing off the hook with nonstop calls” from organizations affected, including police and firefighters, food pantries, drug treatment centers, and more, according to his post on social media site X, formerly Twitter. The federal funding announcement touched off a firestorm of comments from lawmakers, including Schumer, who accused the White House of blocking spending that already was approved.
On Jan. 28, states apparently lost Medicaid access in the afternoon. The day before, a memo from White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Matthew J. Vaeth said 5 p.m. Jan. 28 would be the time “federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance,” including but not limited to foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, diversity, equity and inclusion, “woke gender ideology,” and the green new deal.
In fiscal year 2024, the federal government spent almost $10 trillion, and more than $3 trillion was federal financial assistance, such as grants and loans, Vaeth wrote.
“Financial assistance should be dedicated to advancing administration priorities, focusing taxpayer dollars to advance a stronger and safer America, eliminating the financial burden of inflation for citizens, unleashing American energy and manufacturing, ending ‘wokeness’ and the weaponization of government, promoting efficiency in government, and Making America Healthy Again,” Vaeth’s memo said. “The use of Federal resources to advance Marxist equity, transgenderism, and green new deal social engineering policies is a waste of taxpayer dollars that does not improve the day-to-day lives of those we serve.”
Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) announced she and House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) wrote to Vaeth to express their concerns. The president’s executive orders to withhold approved federal funding are “unlawful,” they said.
“The scope of what you are ordering is breathtaking, unprecedented, and will have devastating consequences across the country,” Murray and DeLauro wrote. “We write today to urge you in the strongest possible terms to uphold the law and the Constitution and ensure all federal resources are delivered in accordance with the law.
“While we may have strong policy disagreements, we should all be united in upholding our nation’s laws and the Constitution,” the lawmakers wrote. “We will be relentless in our work with members on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to protect Congress’s power of the purse. The law is the law —and we demand you in your role as acting OMB director reverse course to ensure requirements enacted into law are faithfully met and the nation’s spending laws are implemented as intended.”
When Medicaid access was shut down, Democrats panned the move in at least five social media posts.
Schumer had a stream of X posts listing the various entities “now in danger thanks to Donald Trump,” including rural hospitals and community health centers, nonprofits that help disabled veterans, mass transit.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) called the White House action “a dangerous move towards authoritarianism.”
“The Trump Administration’s action to suspend all federal grants & loans will have a devastating impact on the health and well-being of millions of children, seniors on fixed incomes, and the most vulnerable people in our country,” Sanders said on X.
“Americans are in panic mode trying to figure out how Trump’s lawless, destructive, cruel order to halt virtually all federal assistance affects them,” Schumer said on X.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) used X, formerly Twitter, to state: “My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.”
“Multiple states locked out of Medicaid portal. This is a Trump shutdown, except this time it’s unlawful,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) said on X.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) posted on X: “41% of all births in the US are covered by Medicaid. Overnight, Republicans are destroying healthcare for millions of Americans – and it isn’t just Trump. Republican majorities in the House and the Senate are backing this illegal sabotage. They are ALL in on it. Every one.”
“Just got off the phone with a medical provider who accepts Medicaid. Because they are shut out from the Medicaid portal, they might not be able to make payroll. They exclusively serve low-income Floridians,” said Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Florida).