After the White House announced a temporary freezing of federal funds and loans, Medicaid users suddenly couldn’t access their online portal on Tuesday, January 28. As part of Donald Trump‘s administration, the president intends to terminate or reevaluate some of the government’s finances. Last week, Trump, 78, issued an executive order to eventually terminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government (known as DEI programs) while placing DEI employees on paid leave. Since there is a brief halt of certain federal grants, does this mean that Medicaid is frozen too?
Find out everything we know about what’s going on with Medicaid below.
What Is Medicaid?
Medicaid is a federal and state program to help low-income Americans see health insurance.
Is Medicaid Frozen?
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.
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 28, 2025
No, medicaid is not currently frozen, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. The 27-year-old 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.”
Nevertheless, countless reporters and social media users have complained online that the Medicaid portal was still down on January 28.
Why Were Federal Funds and Loans Used?
White House Office of Management and Budget acting director Matthew Vaeth wrote in a memo, which was obtained by CNN, that 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.”
Vaeth explained that this “temporary pause [of federal grants] will provide the administration time to review agency programs and determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and the president’s priorities.”
The memorandum also pointed out that “each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the president’s executive orders.”
Did Trump Freeze Food Stamps?
At the time of publication, it’s unclear if food stamps, otherwise known as SNAP benefits, have been frozen. These benefits provide supplemental funds to help low-income families afford groceries.
Is FAFSA Paused?
It’s unclear if the FAFSA has been paused among the temporary halt of federal grants and loans. Financial aid is a form of federal assistance used by countless undergraduate students around the country who cannot afford tuition and other fees.
