Donald Trump may have accidentally turned off 85 million people’s healthcare

As of 2022, 85 million low-income and disabled people get free healthcare through medicaid. In 2019, Medicaid paid for half of all births

Donald Trump appears to have accidentally turned of 85 million people’s healthcare.

When it was first announced, The White House said Trump’s government spending freeze would not affect Medicaid – the programme that provides health insurance to adults and children with “limited income and resources”.

When the Office of Budget Management was forced to send a second memo, clarifying the first one, it also said Medicaid wouldn’t be affected.

Yet yesterday reports emerged that some of the state-by-state web portals where people manage their medicaid accounts – which are co-funded by the federal government and the states – were apparently unavailable.

And listing programmes that would not be included in the freeze, in a bid to “clarify” widespread confusion about the plan, new Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not mention Medicaid.

Asked to clarify whether Medicaid was included, she said she didn’t know and would have to get back to reporters.

The White House has insisted the freeze would not affect funding that was paid directly to Americans.

But Ms Leavitt didn’t offer a concrete answer on whether this would apply to programmes like Meals on Wheels, which provides food to 2.2 million older people.

As of 2022, 85 million low-income and disabled people get free healthcare through medicaid. In 2019, Medicaid paid for half of all births.

Ms Leavitt took questions from reporters for nearly 50 minutes and repeatedly defended Trump on scores of issues — including immigration crackdowns and a freezing of federal funding for a bevy of programs.

She noted that, at 27, she’s the youngest-ever press secretary and said she’d been in the Oval Office speaking to Trump just before the briefing.

She announced the White House would be issuing press credentials to, among others “podcasters and social media influencers”, who would get two special chairs in the briefing room.

And she confirmed the drones that caused alarm over New Jersey were “authorised” and “not the enemy”.

She said the Federal Aviation Administration approved the flights.

“After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” Ms Leavitt said.

“Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones.

She added: “It got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”