Medicaid Access Back But May Be Slow; Judge Halts Freeze On Some Grants
Several states lost access Tuesday to the federal Medicaid portal despite assurances from the Trump administration that his recent funding freezes wouldn't affect the insurance program for low-income people. Plus: Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces a waiver for some lifesaving medicines that were part of the freeze.
The Hill:
States’ Medicaid Portal Access Restored After Lapse Under Trump, But It’s ‘Not Functioning Correctly’
After losing access to a Medicaid federal funding portal after an aid freeze by the Trump administration, states say they’re regaining access, but some are reporting that the site isn’t functioning “correctly.” One day after the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo stating agencies must halt “all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance,” state Medicaid offices reported they had lost access to the payment portal through which federal funds are drawn. (Choi, 1/28)
AP:
Head Start And Medicaid Providers Hit Glitches As Trump Freezes Federal Money
The confusion left some Head Start centers weighing whether to close. Early Flowers Learning, which operates 17 Head Start preschools with 600 students in southwestern Michigan, announced it would not open its doors on Wednesday because it could not pay staff — only to learn that website access had been restored. “I worry about them, you know, certainly trying to hold it together right now, thinking about some of the children that we serve who might not have access to breakfast and lunch if they don’t have a place to go,” said Chanda Hillman said, executive director of Early Flowers Learning. (Balingit, 1/28)
NBC News:
D.C. Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Plan To Pause Federal Aid Spending
A federal district judge on Tuesday granted an administrative stay in a case challenging the Trump administration’s planned freeze of federal aid, pausing the plan for a week and setting a hearing for further arguments Monday morning. The order applies only to the pause of disbursements in open grants, Judge Loren AliKhan said. And it doesn't get into the legality of the freeze; instead, it gives her time to hear more fleshed-out arguments from a coalition of nonprofit groups about why she should issue a temporary restraining order that could block the freeze for an additional two weeks. The hearing will take place at 11 a.m. Monday. (Barnes, 1/28)
KFF Health News:
Trump’s Funding ‘Pause’ Throws States, Health Industry Into Chaos
States and the nation’s health industry were thrown into disarray after the Trump administration ordered Monday that the government freeze nearly all federal grants at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday, a sweeping directive that at least initially appeared to include funding for Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance program that covers more than 70 million Americans. By midmorning Tuesday, state officials around the country reported they had been shut out of a critical online portal that allows states to access federal Medicaid funding. (Galewitz, 1/28)
More on the funding confusion —
The New York Times:
State Department Permits Distribution Of H.I.V. Medications To Resume — For Now
The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a waiver for lifesaving medicines and medical services, offering a reprieve for a worldwide H.I.V. treatment program that was halted last week. The waiver, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seemed to allow for the distribution of H.I.V. medications, but whether the waiver extended to preventive drugs or other services offered by the program, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, was not immediately clear. (Mandavilli, 1/28)
CNN:
Trump Administration Offers Buyouts To Federal Workers
Federal workers who don’t want to return to the office are being offered buyouts, according to a memo posted to the US Office of Personnel Management’s website Tuesday night. (Treene and Blackburn, 1/28)
Also —
MedPage Today:
HHS Has Many Health Equity Offices. What Will Become Of Them?
Of five major HHS agency offices focused on health equity, only one has taken down its website amid President Trump's executive orders to end federal government diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. The FDA's Office of Minority Health and Health Equity website has been taken down, though it remained live as recently as last Thursday. ... However, it's not clear if the executive orders pertain only to DEIA initiatives focused on the federal health workforce, or if also to those agencies' initiatives to improve health equity in the general population. (Fiore, 1/28)
The New York Times:
Leaving The W.H.O. Could Hurt Americans On A Range Of Health Matters
The W.H.O.’s work touches American lives in myriad ways. The agency compiles the International Classification of Diseases, the system of diagnostic codes used by doctors and insurance companies. It assigns generic names to medicines that are recognizable worldwide. Its extensive flu surveillance network helps select the seasonal flu vaccine each year. The agency also closely tracks resistance to antibiotics and other drugs, keeps American travelers apprised of health threats, and studies a wide range of issues such as teen mental health, substance use and aging, which may then inform policies in the United States. (Mandavilli, 1/29)
Stat:
Potential Ebola Outbreak Reported In DRC At A Time Of Strained U.S.-WHO Relations
A potential Ebola outbreak has been reported in a western part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in what would be the second viral hemorrhagic fever outbreak in the region at a time when the Trump administration has paused communication with the World Health Organization. (Branswell, 1/28)
