DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa is seeking permission from President Donald Trump's administration to cut a key benefit for all its Medicaid recipients, a move that could foreshadow other state-level efforts to change the safety net program after Congress repeatedly failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Federal health officials could decide soon whether to back Iowa's proposal, which would cut retroactive payments for poor or disabled residents for medical needs incurred up to three months before they registered for or re-enrolled in Medicaid. The state wants a decision by Oct. 1, though such...