At the DC Council’s recent roundtable on the District’s Medicaid and Alliance changes, AJE’s Health Justice Project Director, Chioma Oruh, Ph.D., testified on the deep harm these policy shifts pose for immigrant families, caregivers, and District residents with disabilities and special health care needs.

AJE reaffirmed the urgency of protecting equitable, stable healthcare access and urged the Council to recognize how these changes are already destabilizing households—particularly undocumented caregivers, low-income Black families, elders with limited English proficiency, and youth with mental health needs. Chioma grounded her testimony in personal experience, describing the preventable losses of her father and brother due to fragmented and inaccessible care, and emphasizing that today’s policy decisions risk repeating these failures for thousands of DC residents.

She noted that families are facing what she called a “political pandemic,” created by the One Big Beautiful Bill and reinforced by the new eligibility restrictions. Chioma warned that these changes will increase uninsurance, disrupt access to specialists and medication, and further endanger families already navigating disability, chronic illness, and economic instability. She highlighted District data showing that over 1,630 residents have already lost Medicaid coverage without transitioning to the Basic Health Plan, many of whom are caregivers of children with disabilities.

Regarding the Alliance Program, Chioma urged the Council to:

• Restore the income eligibility limit to 215% FPL
• Restore all services removed after October 1, 2025
• Remove the age cap for adults 26 and older
• Establish an Alliance Advisory Council with representation from DHCF, DHS, and community members

Regarding DC Medicaid, she urged the Council to pursue a 1332 Waiver so residents caught between Medicaid and the Basic Health Plan can still receive subsidized coverage.

Chioma concluded that these recommendations are not ambitious—they are the minimum required to prevent avoidable suffering and premature death. She emphasized that a just healthcare system must protect the very families who have built and sustained the District, and AJE remains ready to work with the Council toward that goal.

Click here to watch the roundtable.

Click here to read Chioma’s full testimony.