DC Deputy Mayor of Health and Human Services discusses cuts to Medicaid
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — With a reduced budget from the federal government, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and her administration were forced to make drastic cuts to the proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
As a result, Medicaid in the District may have new eligibility requirements that would essentially kick more than 25,000 residents off the state-federal health care.
'We have a … fairly robust plan,' said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Wayne Turnage. 'We identified several goals when we were approaching the need to cut — actually $182 million — out of the budget on the Medicaid side. And one of those goals was to reduce eligibility by focusing on those on the highest eligibility income thresholds and those who have options for alternative coverage on the exchange.'
RELATED COVERAGE: 25K+ DC residents could lose Medicaid. Now what? Here's what you can do.
Knowing cuts were imminent, Turnage said there were three main things they looked at: eligibility, benefits, structure and provider rates.
'If you have to make significant reductions in Medicaid, you have to do it by touching some combination of those three,' he said.
However, the District said it plans to assist those losing access to Medicaid. One such method, available to around 90% of individuals impacted, includes a Basic Health Plan, which is being developed by the D.C. Health Exchange.
'This will allow people … whose income is between 100-200% of federal poverty to access a program that they will design to mimic Medicaid,' Turnage said.
The remaining 10% of impacted individuals will be asked to consider health insurance on the health exchange.
Turnage said this was a 'very very difficult budget.' In years prior, the District has seen large revenue growth and surpluses, but projections for the next four years show negative growth, he noted.
'In Fiscal Year 2026, growth will be negligible,' Turnage said. 'I think less than 1% — negative — it'll be -0.5%.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Medicaid spending in Mass. has nearly quadrupled in the past 20 years. It needs reform.
Advertisement Medicaid was The cost of this is staggering. The budget for the state's Medicaid program, called MassHealth, has to over Advertisement But this explosion in the cost of Medicaid begs the question: Has all this spending led to better health outcomes? Surprisingly, Despite these findings, even modest Medicaid reform in Republican proposals before Congress — like encouraging community engagement through volunteering or work, preventing duplicate payments to insurers, and closing state-level However, it should be noted that the current proposals in Washington — which the House passed last week and are now in the Republican-controlled Senate — will result in more Medicaid spending over 10 years, not less. The bill merely slows the rate of growth. Only in Washington, D.C., is more spending decried as a cut. The fundamental issue remains: Are we prioritizing the right goals? Advertisement The evidence on the power of connection is . Past state-level experiments with work engagement in programs like food stamps and welfare cash assistance offer a promising road map. A Medicaid reform could similarly refocus state efforts on connecting enrollees with community engagement rather than solely maximizing federal funding. Encouragingly, these past reforms also saw a halving of the time individuals needed to stay on public assistance. Shouldn't we celebrate if someone like J.D. could earn enough to transition to employer-based or ACA coverage? Sadly, too often, critics characterize any transition off Medicaid as Advertisement While Medicaid reform often faces bipartisan heartburn, paradoxically there's longtime bipartisan agreement that major entitlement programs are growing unsustainably. If we can't at least slow the rate of growth, in part by delivering better outcomes, then our fiscal house of cards may fall, which hurts the most vulnerable. Our leaders must shift the debate from simply protecting the flow of federal dollars to ensuring that every Medicaid dollar genuinely improves patient health. Current inertia seems more about preserving the status quo than addressing the health impact on individuals like J.D. Meanwhile, our communities suffer as we miss out on J.D.'s contributions to society. The federal proposals provide a crucial moment to discuss opening doors of opportunity rather than defending a system that requires poverty for coverage. It's time to move beyond simply paying insurance companies for a card in J.D.'s pocket and focus on reforms that foster human thriving.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
New report indicates new Commanders stadium could bring $24B in revenue to DC
The Brief A new report shows that the new Commanders stadium could bring in even more revenue than originally expected. The report comes from a data analytics company called CSL and was commissioned by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. The $4 billion deal to build a new stadium at the old RFK Site still has to be approved by the D.C. Council. WASHINGTON - A recent economic impact report indicates that revenue from a new Commanders stadium could be even higher than first predicted. The study commissioned by the Bowser administration claims that billions of dollars in spending and tax revenue would come from a new stadium at the RFK site but economists tell FOX 5 that they're not so sure. What we know The report comes from a data analytics company called CSL. The proposed $4 billion deal would have the Commanders invest $2.7 billion in the stadium, while the D.C. government is expected to contribute $1.1 billion. The new 22-page report commissioned by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser—no surprise—supports what her administration has been saying are the economic benefits of the stadium The report says that once open, a new Commanders stadium is estimated to generate $24 billion in economic activity across the entire RFK Stadium campus project and over $5 billion in new tax revenue for the District. These projections are higher than the Bowser administration itself first predicted. "The financial projections of the stadium didn't change that much but look at the 'top line' of this," said D.C. City Administrator Kevin Donohugh. "It is a historically large private investment that will produce multiple of investments in terms of both spending and taxes." Big picture view Pro-sports franchises and local governments often tout an economic windfall from public tax dollars going to privately-owned sports stadiums but some economists warn the projects often don't deliver the promised economic impacts. Salim Furth is an urban economist at George Mason University. He told FOX 5 that the teams, not the cities, wind up with the economic touchdown. "We've seen more and more sports owners willing to do that and cities that say, 'hey we are going to work with you and easy do business, we want you in our city but we're not going to treat you differently than the people who run our grocery stores and the people who pump our gas,'" Furth said. The D.C. Council still needs to approve the deal. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Washington Commanders told FOX 5 that the team is now conducting a search for an architect to design the new stadium, with a target opening in 2030.
Black America Web
3 hours ago
- Black America Web
Op-Ed: Care For Constituents Or Chaos? Medicaid Cuts Will Devastate All Of Us
Source: Jemal Countess / Getty In our country, which has so much abundance, poverty shouldn't be a death sentence. However, proposed cuts to Medicaid will cause many individuals, families and communities to suffer for that very reason–poverty. Significant and potentially massive cuts to Medicaid will cause irreparable harm. Shockwaves will reverberate in rural, urban, and suburban communities, and impact individuals, working families, many of our most fragile elderly and our most vulnerable young and disabled. I offer this perspective as a public health practitioner. I have spent my career supporting and advancing health systems in our country, across Louisiana, the Gulf Coast, and in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., Medicaid supports our workforce and health systems (hospitals and clinics), in addition to individuals, families, and communities Medicaid provides insurance to people with low incomes and people who have disabilities. This includes many individuals who work, but still don't work jobs with health insurance, work part-time, or don't make enough to cover insurance. It is the nation's single largest health insurance program. And it is wildly popular. More than 96% of Americans believe the program is important in their communities and recent national polls from January 2025 found that 80% of Americans have a favorable view of Medicaid. Some may wonder if I am overreacting. I'm not. More than 70 million Americans receive health care coverage under the Medicaid program. In Louisiana, where I live, one-third of our adult population is on Medicaid, and the percentage of coverage is even higher in rural areas. In fact, Medicaid plays a much larger role in covering rural communities in Louisiana and across our country than it does in metro/areas. In other parts of the South, like rural Kentucky, more than 40% of the population is on Medicaid. These individuals, like all of us, want nothing more than to live healthy and thriving lives while making ends meet for their families and making their children's futures more prosperous. The public may envision people on Medicaid as unworthy of receiving assistance. But there is no one profile of a Medicaid recipient. They come from all backgrounds, all races and ethnicities, all ages and all communities. In fact, most low-income Americans, whether rural or urban, Black or White, Republican or Democrat, share an economic fate impacted by hardship, and the solution to their support and prosperity is also shared. For instance, 'The number of people earning less than $25,750 for a family of four is rising in both Republican and Democratic districts, and across racial and geographic lines.' It's also important to understand the range of services people receive from Medicaid. Services include everything from general health services, to behavioral health (mental health and substance use) services, disability services, maternal health supports and more. Impacts across all of these areas could be devastating with federal and state cuts to beneficiaries or benefits. For example, maternal health outcomes, particularly maternal mortality, continue to devastate families and communities across our country. Louisiana had the nation's fourth-highest maternal mortality rate in 2021 at 60.9 deaths per 100,000 births, but I know this is not just a Louisiana problem; it's a national one. The March of Dimes reported that '870 maternal deaths occurred each year…and every year 50,000 women experience a life-threatening complication (sometimes called a near-miss)' or severe maternal health complication. With such high risk, good coverage and high-quality care is more important than ever, and over 42% of all births in our country are covered by Medicaid. Reducing these Medicaid benefits would be disastrous to mothers, babies and families. Chancing the lives of mothers and babies is simply too risky! While I referenced maternal health, Medicaid supports the existence of healthier communities. Beyond the immediacy of illness, sick people can't work, study, or play. They can't contribute to their families, our communities, and the country's economy—from kids, to employers, to the GDP, everyone loses. Our nation's health systems, from rural health centers to large urban hospital systems receive critical funding to cover the millions of peoples seeking care. The healthcare sector, one of the most important sectors of our economy overall, relies heavily on Medicaid reimbursement to sustain jobs and services. Cuts of great magnitude will threaten clinics, hospitals and medical providers. We will see the impacts of this immediately in rural regions with the shuttering of services, significant job losses, and further diminishing already challenged access to care. With health care shortages already existing, our conversations need to be continued around closing the gaps in access, not creating new chasms. Now more than ever, we need our leaders and legislative champions to protect our communities and their health and well-being! Given the adverse impact Medicaid cuts would have on the nation, we need to boldly reject proposals that will weaken the program and impact all of our communities. Given its importance, some may wonder why elected leaders would want to cut the program. Some legislators propose cutting Medicaid as part of a broader plan to give $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Others want to lower the federal deficit, a $1.1 trillion deficit at the end of February 2025. Policymakers should not attempt to bring down federal spending with ill-conceived strategies that will only add to Americans' suffering. They should instead think strategically about taxation. Legislators can bring a great deal of confidence in their leadership by examining other alternatives to drastic Medicaid cuts, by reminding us that they care for all of their constituents, and that they are creating a vision for a healthier future based on their community's needs—timely doctors' visits, healthy births, high quality mental health care and substance use supports—not disregarding, or even worse targeting the thing that keeps us safe and well. Shelina Davis is the Chief Executive Officer of the Louisiana Public Health Institute. SEE ALSO: 'We All Are Going To Die': Joni Ernst's Chilling Defense Of Medicaid Cuts Sparks Outrage At Iowa Town Hall The Midnight Medicaid Cuts: Why The GOP's Reconciliation Bill Is A Raw Deal For The American People SEE ALSO Op-Ed: Care For Constituents Or Chaos? Medicaid Cuts Will Devastate All Of Us was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
