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DC committee hears warnings that proposed Medicaid, Alliance changes and BHP transition could disrupt coverage for tens of thousands
Summary
Witnesses at the Committee on Health oversight hearing warned that Mayor Bowser's FY26 budget proposals — including moving some Medicaid enrollees into a Basic Health Program (BHP) and phasing out parts of the DC Health Care Alliance — could lead to coverage losses and administrative disruptions for thousands of district residents.
The Committee on Health heard broad warnings June 5 that proposed FY26 budget changes for Medicaid, the DC Health Care Alliance and a planned Basic Health Program (BHP) transition could disrupt coverage or reduce benefits for tens of thousands of District residents. Witnesses representing legal services, child and family advocates, hospitals and consumer groups urged the Council to slow or mitigate the proposed changes.
Legal and policy witnesses said the administration’s plan to move certain adults out of Medicaid and into a BHP, and to narrow Alliance eligibility, risks leaving people without equivalent benefits and creates a short timeline for a complex transition. "DHCF would have to make $182,000,000 in cuts to slow the growth of the Medicaid program," Leah Casales, senior policy attorney at the Children's Law Center, told the committee, citing agency projections.
Supporters of the current programs said objecting to the changes was not abstract. Claire…
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