Kennedy Jr.'s statements before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday revealed a concerning lack of knowledge about the major health programs he'd oversee, should he be confirmed as HHS secretary.

Kennedy about his views on vaccines and abortion, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was also asked how he'd run the two largest government health insurance programs − Medicare and Medicaid.

Trump’s pick for health secretary showed a poor understanding of a key part of the job.

After President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on federal grants and loans, Medicaid's portals went down Tuesday afternoon, causing recipients to panic about their health insurance coverage. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the Medicaid outage Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, but said payments would not be impacted.

Amid a likely debate between Mississippi House and Senate leaders over plans to slash state taxes, Republican Gov.

The Trump administration’s freeze on federal grants sparked chaos and confusion at state Medicaid agencies on Tuesday.

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.

As the White House paused federal grants and loans in a far-reaching executive order, early childhood education centers and states discovered Tuesday they could no longer access money they rely on to provide care for some of the nation’s neediest families and children.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -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.

When Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 12 into law in May 2023, Texas became the 41st state to extend postpartum Medicaid to 12 months. It was a victory years in the making, after several sessions of advocacy from health care providers, maternal health experts and moms themselves.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., nominated to be health secretary, seemed unfamiliar with the particulars of the massive insurance program he'd oversee in exchanges with senators Thursday.