() Medicaid portals are reportedly down in all 50 states after the Trump administration ordered a pause on federal grants, loans and other programs beginning on Tuesday as the administration begins a review of federal spending.

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, posted on social media that his staff confirmed that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states.

“NEW: 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,” Wyden wrote on X.

When asked specifically if Medicaid would be affected by the pause, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt replied, “I’ll check back on that and get back to you.”

A short time later, Leavitt posted on social media that the White House is aware of the Medicaid website portal outage.

“We have confirmed no payments have been affected,” Leavitt wrote on X. “They are still being processed and sent. We expect the portal will be back online shortly.”

What is Medicaid?

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for some people with limited income and resources, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The agency said that Medicaid offers benefits that Medicare does not normally cover such as nursing home care and personal care services. Medicaid recipients typically do not pay anything for covered medical expenses but may owe a small co-payment for some items or services.

As of October, more than 72 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid, according to data.

What is the difference between Medicaid and Medicare?

Medicare is federal health insurance for Americans who are ages 65 and older as well as for some people who are under 65 but suffer from certain disabilities or conditions, the Department of Health and Human Services said.

Medicare is run by a federal agency known as the Centers for Medical and Medicaid Services. Medicare, because it is a federal program, has set standards for costs and coverage. This guarantees that a person’s Medicare coverage will be the same regardless of where they live.

Medicare-related bills are paid from two trust funds that are held by the U.S. Treasury, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The trust funds are sourced with payroll taxes and other funds that are authorized by Congress.

Medicare recipients pay a portion of the costs through monthly premiums for medical and drug coverage, deductibles and co-insurance.

As of March 2023, nearly 66 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, according to data.

Who qualifies for Medicaid?

According to Medicaid.gov, federal law requires that states cover certain groups of individuals. This includes low-income families, qualified women who are preganant and children as well as Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Individual states also have additional options for Medicaid coverage and may choose to extend coverage to other groups such as residents who receive home and community-based services or children who are in foster care who otherwise are not eligible for coverage, the website said.

The Affordable Care Act of 2010 provided the option for states to expand Medicaid to include nearly all low-income Americans who are under the age of 65. The website said that eligiblity for children was extended to at least 133% of the fedreal poverty level in every state.

The Affordable Care Act also established new methods for determining Medicaid eligibility, which is based on Modified Adjusted Gross Income.

Lawmakers respond to portal outage

The White House said it is aware of the outage, but that no Medicaid payments were affected, U.S. senators from both sides of the aisle responded to news of the portals being down.

U.S. Sen. Rafael Warnock, D-Ga., referred to the reports of portals being down nationwide as “unprecedented” and “draconian.”

“People are feeling the pain and the chaos of this in real time,” Warnock said.

However, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said that Democrats are to blame for taking aim at Trump “in every single way they can.” He said that that directives sent Monday night by the Office of Management and Budget directing the temporary pause of all obligation or dispursement of federal assistance was just that: Temporary.

As Leavitt told reporters Tuesday, Kennedy said that programs like Medicaid, Medicare, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would not be affected by the temporary freeze.

“I mean, the idea that we’re going to stop making Medicaid payments or Medicare payments is nonsense,” Kennedy said Tuesday. “It’s nonsense on a stick. (Democrats) should be ashamed of themselves for saying that.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a statement in support saying “Trump was elected on a mandate to cut government waste and increase the impact of every federal taxpayer dollar, a goal we whole heartedly embrace” and that he urges Medicaid “to develop a responsible runway to untangle us from any unnecessary and egregious policies without jeopardizing the financial stability of the state.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also called out the outage, saying “72 MILLION people rely on this health insurance and you have to get back to us?!? Are you f****** kidding me?” in a post on X.

Oregon’s Democratic Sen. Ronald Wyden called the downed portal a “blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.”

Democratic New York Rep. Josh Riley said it was “complete bull****”.

“Upstate New Yorkers work hard and pay our taxes — the least we should expect in return is a government that doesn’t screw us over just to give more handouts to billionaires and big corporations. I’m fighting back.”

New York’s Democratic Attorney General Leticia James posted on X that the Trump administration “has unleashed mayhem with its latest illegal action, affecting kids who rely on federal funds for their next meal, seniors on Medicaid, and law enforcement fighting drug and gun crime. These chaos cuts jeopardize resources that millions of Americans rely on.”

This is a developing story. will update as more information becomes available