Issues & Advocacy
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DCPCA policy and advocacy will help right the injustices in our health care system. Health injustice is a sad reality, but it’s a reality that we can change. Our first step is to address two primary needs: The need for all DC residents to have health insurance; and The need for all DC residents to find primary care in their own communities. DCPCA informs and influences policy by following taxpayer’s money and making sure those funds are spent well. Annually, the DC government spends approximately 20 percent of its budget – over $2 billion – on health care for the medically vulnerable, including public school health and mental health services. Most of this money runs through the DC Department of Health Care Finanace, which sets standards, collects and analyzes data, and purchases health care for more than 200,000 DC residents. But it also includes the activities of other departments, such as the Department of Health, Department of Mental Health, DC Public Schools, Department of Disability Services, and the Income Maintenance Administration. DC HealthCare Alliance The DC HealthCare Alliance, started in 2001, is a public-private partnership between the District of Columbia, managed care organizations, and private health care providers. The Alliance program provides health insurance to District residents who are ineligible for Medicaid and have an annual income less than, or equal to, 200 percent of the federal poverty level ($10,210 for an individual in 2007). DC Medicaid Medicaid is a health insurance program partially funded by the federal government and run by each state and the District of Columbia. It provides certain eligible low-income residents and people living with disabilities the opportunity to get health care. The DC Medicaid program covers over 140,000 people – roughly one quarter of the DC population – at a cost of approximately $1.7 billion; 70% of which is paid for by the federal government.
DCPCA believes that the District must make a commitment to improving the mental health care system by developing effective data collection, removing barriers to accessing services for low-income clients, integrating mental health and primary care services, and improving the budget and management of the Department of Mental Health.
Health Center Policy and Operations Committee Meeting Minutes DOH Notice - Access to H1N1 Flu Medication for Alliance Members (May 6, 2009)
DC HealthCare Alliance Pharmacy - List of Locations and Hours |
Policy Achievements
- An expansion of Medicaid to cover people with HIV at diagnosis, rather than after their disease has progressed to covered disability caused by AIDS.
- An expansion of Medicaid to cover low-income adults ages 50-64. This means people with chronic diseases now have insurance.
- An Immigrant Children's Program that provides Medicaid-like benefits to low-income immigrant children.
- Improvements in DC's Income Maintenance Administration, which enrolls people in Medicaid, that have helped 14,000 people enroll in Medicaid since 1998.
- Making sure that patients of DC's historical safety net providers, such as Bread for the City and Mary's Center for Maternal & Child Care, get high quality care.
