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

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.

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.

They say congressional Republicans' talk of cutting trillions from Medicaid leaves the state with a dire choice: cut coverage for 630,000 low-income Virginians or pick up a bill of $2.5 billion a year.

The spending freeze on federal assistance could affect everything from aid to nonprofits, universities, small business loans and state and local government grants.

A judge has blocked President Donald Trump’s freeze on federal loans and grants until Monday, but the sense of confusion hit hard in this government-dependent region.

A new report from Georgetown University sketches the present Medicaid system and makes clear the threat of potential cuts from Congress.

A judge temporarily blocked implementation of a sweeping White House effort to pause potentially trillions of dollars in federal grants, loans and other financial-assistance programs, a directive that created chaos as states struggled to access funding portals dealing with Medicaid,

Block grants and per capita caps would strain state budgets. Medicaid is the largest source of federal funding for state budgets, accounting for 56 percent of total federal funding allocated to states in 2024.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., will travel to Washington, D.C., this week to provide input regarding the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Green has expressed concerns about the potential impact of Kennedy’s confirmation on Hawai‘i and the nation.

This is a developing story and may be updated as we receive new information. Oregon is suing the Trump administration after it ordered an abrupt freeze many federal payments, leaving state agencies unable to access reimbursements for Medicaid and child care programs and sending state officials scrambling to determine the total effect.

As lawmakers in Washington, D.C., prepare a massive tax cut and spending bill, it seemed worthwhile to learn about what Medicaid means to rural areas. It also seemed worthwhile to learn about what ...