The ideas being proposed could amount to more than $2 trillion of cuts to the countrys public health insurance program for low-income and disabled Americans over the next decade and could potentially push millions of people off the program.

At least three U.S. lawmakers said on Tuesday healthcare providers were blocked from the Medicaid payment portal after the Trump administration announced a federal funding pause, even as the White House said the program was exempted.

Washington has joined 21 other states in a lawsuit seeking to block the federal government from freezing billions in federal funding an array of state programs including ones centered on education, roads and health care.

At least 20 states were unable to draw funds from an HHS payment system hours after the White House ordered a pause on the disbursement of grants and loans.

A group of Idahoans are calling on the state's leaders to protect Medicaid as conversations around cuts in Washington D.C. continue.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state program that provides health care coverage to low-income individuals and families. It services over 79 million Americans.

The outage at least temporarily jeopardized payments the federal government makes to state programs, and sowed uncertainty for patients, doctors, hospitals and others.

The Medicaid website was down, but the portal was expected to be back up shortly, said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. She wrote on X that no payments had been affected and that they were still being processed and sent.

Protect Our Care, a liberal advocacy group, is launching a $10 million “Hands Off Medicaid” campaign that targets 17 GOP lawmakers.

Since the pandemic, hospitals in Washington have lost $4.5 billion, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. But CEO Cassie Sauer said finances for the state's hospital system remain "fragile.

North Carolina was the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Lambeth said lawmakers in some of the holdout states have been impressed with North Carolina’s decision to pass expansion with a provision to create a workforce development program for beneficiaries.

RFK Jr.'s second Senate confirmation hearing focused on vaccines, Medicare, diversity, and science. Key Republicans were reticent to show support.