U.S. Senator Ron Wyden is sounding the alarm after reports confirmed that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following the announcement of a freeze on federal grants and loans.
"My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze," Wyden wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed."
However, in the panic, Trump mouthpiece Karoline Leavittn finally tweeted, "The White House is aware of the Medicaid website portal outage. We have confirmed no payments have been affected — they are still being processed and sent. We expect the portal will be back online shortly."
Medicaid is a federally-funded insurance option for low-income legal residents of the United States. Previously, both the executive order and Trump's new press secretary said that 'Medicaid would not be affected,' though stopped short of guaranteeing it would not be affected.
Oregon democrat Ronald Wyden wrote on X that his staff 'confirmed reports' that 'Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night's federal funding freeze.'
Wyden, who has long been an advocate for healthcare access, condemned the move, stating that the shutdown of Medicaid systems is a direct attack on the health coverage of millions of Americans.
The website currently warns that due "to Executive Orders regarding potentially unallowable grant payments, PMS is taking additional measures to process payments. Reviews of applicable programs and payments will result in delays and/or rejections of payments."
A spokesperson for HHS did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Down Detector, the website that tracks website status', also reported the Medicare site down around the country. Medicare is the federal program for individuals who are disabled or over 65, while Medicaid is a program available to any low-income individuals under the age of 65.
The situation has raised significant concerns as sources report widespread issues with the Medicaid payment system on the doctor's end as well. These disruptions could put critical healthcare services at risk for vulnerable populations across the country.
Connecticut senator Chris Murphy writes, "Can confirm. Connecticut’s Medicaid payment system has been turned off. Doctors and hospitals cannot get paid. Discussions ongoing about whether services can continue. Medicaid covers health care for millions of seniors and covers 40% of births in America."
Donald Trump's newest Press secretary/mouthpiece, Karoline Leavitt, held her first press conference at 1 p.m. and was repeatedly pressed by the media on which programs will be affected. Unable to answer, Leavitt repeated that Donald Trump's executive order "will not impact individuals who receive direct assistance," but could not specify which programs will remain on the table.
"I have now been asked and answered this question 4 times to individuals at home who receive direct assistance from the federal government, you will not be impacted by this federal freeze," Leavitt repeated again, and offered to get the press a list of programs once it is available. She would not go on the record to ensure that individuals on Medicaid would not be affected.
When prompted again for clarification on what programs will be 'paused,' Leavitt stated: "It means no more funding for illegal DEI programs. It means no more funding for the green news scam that has cost American. Taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. It means no more funding for transgenderism and wokeness across our federal bureaucracy and agencies. No more funding for Green New Deal social engineering policies."
It is unclear how or why Medicaid falls under the new federal government's funding requirements of anti-'wokeism' and 'transgenderism,' as laid out by Leavitt.
HHS currently has almost 38,000 active grants, according to government data. The department has authorized $714.5 billion in spending for the 2025 fiscal year.
Leavitt continued to try and steer the press towards her talking points when she was unable to answer if Medicaid was part of the freeze. "Again, people who are receiving individual assistance assistance, you will continue to receive that. And President Trump is looking out for you by issuing this pause because he is being a good steward of your taxpayer dollars."
Sign up to our FREE newsletter and get the top stories to your inbox
DAILY NEWSLETTER: Sign up here to get the latest news and updates from the Mirror US straight to your inbox with our FREE newsletter.