DC officials warn of steep Medicaid funding shortfall as federal match proposals loom

Summary

Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnich told the Council—s Committee on Health that rising enrollment and provider costs could create a $173.2 million local funding gap for fiscal 2026; proposals in Congress to reduce Medicaid matching rates could worsen the district—s position by more than $1 billion in lost federal funds.

Deputy Mayor Wayne Turnich warned the D.C. Council—s Committee on Health on Feb. 20 that the District faces a sizable funding gap for its Medicaid and Alliance programs in fiscal 2026 unless program design or local funding changes are implemented.

Turnich told Chair Christina Henderson the immediate projection, holding eligibility and benefits constant, would require the city to find an additional $173,200,000 in local funds to pay for the same level of services and enrollment in FY26. "If we don't make any changes to the district's Medicaid program design, the city will need to allocate a hundred and $73,200,000 in additional local funds to pay for the program in fiscal year 26," Turnich said during his presentation.

The deputy mayor said that increase is driven principally by enrollment growth and provider rate increases. He emphasized that if the city declined to fund that local…

DC officials warn of steep Medicaid funding shortfall as federal match proposals loom

Summary

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