NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Confusion in North Carolina’s healthcare community seemed widespread Tuesday after President Trump’s executive order put a pause on federal grants and aid programs. Administration officials said they wanted to ensure all federal spending aligned with the President’s priorities.
While a federal judge has since put the spending freeze on hold until Monday, it wasn’t clear if programs like Medicaid, health insurance for low-income Americans, would be included. For part of the day on Tuesday, North Carolina hospitals were unable to access a Medicaid payment platform, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
“For a period of time today, NC Medicaid was not able to access the Payment Management Services portal but is now able to get into the system,” a spokesperson told Queen City News.
MORE | Charlotte organizations, colleges have questions over Trump’s freeze on federal grants
The White House later clarified Medicaid funding would not be paused, but the same cannot be said for medical research. Officials with Duke University School of Medicine said they received more than half a billion dollars in grant money in 2023, “Any interruption of federal allocations would have an enormous impact not only on the Duke University School of Medicine but to the Triangle and state of North Carolina at large.”
Charlotte Democratic Congresswoman Alma Adams said whether that judge’s temporary block holds, the White House overstepped.
“You can’t legislate from the White House, that’s one thing he’s trying to legislate and a matter of fact, that’s not the president’s role,” said Adams.
When pressed by reporters at the US Capitol, North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis said he was still reviewing what was actually included in the pause.
“I don’t know, I simply…you all have read the memo, I haven’t, I’m just saying I can think of some things that shouldn’t be within the scope but we’ll see if it is,” said Tillis.
The same judge who issued the temporary block on the funding freeze will have another hearing next Monday to decide whether to extend that hold.
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