PHIL GALEWITZ | KFF Health News
After the Trump administration ordered the government to freeze almost all federal subsidies by 5:00 pm on Monday, the state and national health industry were confused. A program that covers more than 70 million Americans.
By the middle of Tuesday, state authorities nationwide reported that the state has been closed out of an important online portal that can access the Federal Medicade's funding.
Senator Ron Widen, a top Democratic Party of the Senate Finance Committee, said on a social media site that the portal was down in all 50 states following the Trump administration's order.
“This is a blatant attempt to tear healthcare from millions of Americans overnight, and will kill people,” he wrote.
At around noon on Tuesday, the White House Management Budget Bureau, which issued Monday notes, was clearly approaching the federal government, so it was clear that “essential programs like Medicade” were not included in the freezing. I gave a new guidance.
White House's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt refused to confirm that the Medicade had been exempted when a reporter was forced by a reporter during the afternoon briefing.
However, she later stated in a social platform X post, saying “Portal stopped,” said “payment was not affected.”
Federal Medicade's funds may already take wise supporters overnight about the future of the program. President Donald Trump has pledged to the campaign's trajectory that it does not require med care or social security reduction, a major qualification program in the country that provides services to retired people. But he did not promise the same for Medicade. Medicade pays healthcare mainly for low -income and disabled people. This is about one in five Americans.
Apart from frozen, Republican members of Congress have discussed about the reduction of about $ 900 billion programs, claiming that the costs are increasing, especially to cover low -income adults. Includes the expansion of. The members are also paying attention to how to save money for other legal priority to Trump. In particular, he will extend the tax cut from his first semester, which expired at the end of this year.
The federal government pays most of the medicides operated by the state. Medicade pays for about 38 million children, along with the long -term care of most Americans and about 40 % of all births in the United States.
Medicade's federal government funds can be sent directly to the state, not individual registrants. The state will be distributed to other entities that provide services to providers, health plans, and Medicade registrants.
State authorities can access their funding through the Internet portal.
John Alcar, an executive director of George Town Maccut Public Policy and Family Center, said on Tuesday that the portal lockout was a “big crisis.”
She pointed out that many states access the federal funding at the end of the month. She writes “IE this week”.
The original freezing order is vaguely represented by management and budget bureau to all federal organizations that instruct them to temporarily suspend all activities related to federal financial support or expenditure. It was performed in the form of the memo.
“This temporary suspension will review government agency programs and provide management time to determine the best use of these programs, which match the priority of the law and the President,” a note states. I am. It was unknown how the state would pay a private health plan for managing doctors, hospitals, nursing homes, and medicade.
Around the country, the health authorities were in a hurry to understand the instructions. This was scheduled to be enabled at 5:00 pm on Tuesday. The Federal judge stopped freezing just before its implementation and blocked changes until next week.
Even if OMB clarifies that it does not contain Medicade, the immediate impact on other important health programs, especially for community health centers and medical research centers, is revealed.
Democratic members of Congress include not only Medicade, but also supplementary nutritional support programs known as food stamps, WIC nutrition programs for women and post -gestation, post -delivery women, and supplementary nutrition support programs. The pause of the federal government has shown anger at the Trump administration. A school lunch program for low -income students.
“Last night, the Trump administration's actions that stop all federal subsidies and loans have a catastrophic impact on the health and happiness of the most vulnerable people in Japan, as many as children, the elderly on fixed income, and the most vulnerable people in Japan. Against the Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT.) Tuesday. “It's a dangerous movement to authoritarianism, and it's blatantly unconstitutional.”
The Medicade Association and the major nursing home association were one of the people who had been seeking clarifying the White House on Tuesdays on the effects of Medicade's funding.
Many state officials and groups said they are considering or submitted a lawsuit to disagree with the order. One lawsuit was filed on Tuesday by non -profit organizations and the U.S. Public Health Association for the OMB of the Washington DC Court, and said, “Temporary to maintain the current situation until the court has the opportunity to consider more completely. We are looking for a suppression order.
California, New York, and four other judicial Secretary of Justice have filed a joint lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday afternoon.
“This policy is reckless, dangerous, illegal, and illegal,” said New York's Best Secretary, Lettia James. She added that she and other Democratic Public Officer seek a temporary suppression order to stop the OMB policy from getting into effect.
Levit defended freezing during the first briefing of the new administration, the White House briefing.
“This is a very responsible scale,” she said.
Reported by Bram Sable-Smith, Jordan Rau, Renuka Rayasam, Brett Kelman, and Christine Mai-Ducc.
This article created a detailed journalism on health issues and was created by KFF Health News, one of the KFF core management programs. This is an independent source of health policy research, voting, and journalism. KFF Health News is a publisher of California Health Line, an edited service of the California Healthcare Foundation.
