FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DC Budget 2026: Council May Approve Bowser's Elimination of Healthcare for 25,000 Low-Income Adults While Protecting Nearly a Billion in Stadium Funding — Advocates Demand Council Reverse Plan to Kill 25-Year-Old Healthcare Alliance Program
COUNCIL BUDGET SESSION WATCH PARTY ANNOUNCED
Washington, D.C. — A new legal analysis authored in part by former DC Councilmember David Grosso confirms that the DC Council Committee on Health has so far chosen not to reverse Mayor Muriel Bowser’s plan to effectively end the DC Healthcare Alliance program for adults over 21. According to the report:
“On October 1, 2027, coverage for all Alliance participants aged 21 and older will end, leaving the program available only to children and young adults under 21.” (Full report: Arent Fox Schiff on DC Healthcare Alliance)
The proposed cuts may save around $100 million annually for the District but would leave 25,000 low-income DC residents un- or under-insured, pushing them into precarious health outcomes and greater reliance on even more expensive emergency services.
The Keep DC Healthy Coalition has informed Councilmembers that fully funding the Alliance program would provide critical cost savings and better health outcomes for DC: As insured residents receive regular primary care and experience 40% fewer emergency visits and 53% fewer hospitalizations, saving an estimated $3,400 per person compared to the costs of irregular, emergency-driven care.
Advocates emphasize the disproportionate impact these cuts will have on East of the River Wards 7 and 8, which have the highest Alliance enrollment and where life expectancy is already on average 15-years shorter than in wealthier areas of the city.
Keep DC Healthy Coalition also highlighted the broader economic and public health consequences:
“A failed primary care system will result in a sicker workforce and a health system even more overburdened and spiraling from lack of compensation for care than it is now. These impacts will affect everyone who relies on the safety net, or on hospitals that see a lot of uncompensated care, not ‘just’ Alliance beneficiaries.”
The DC City Council is scheduled to hold a budget work session on Wednesday, July 2, and the Fair Budget Coalition has organized a virtual watch party for concerned residents to follow developments and show support for preserving vital healthcare services.
Join the Budget Work Session Watch Party:
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Date: Wednesday, July 2, 2025
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Time: 10:30 AM ET
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Zoom Link: Join Meeting
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Meeting ID: 890 4090 6207
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Passcode: 060912
For more information, contact:
Chris Otten
DC for Reasonable Development
(202) 810 2768