They're coming for DC Medicaid too

Well, the celebrating over the past few days has been about Mayor Bowser's tentative deal with the Commanders to return to RFK Stadium (which still needs DC council approval).  At about the same time she was announcing that breakthrough, though, the mayor was also holding a press conference warning of the "dire impacts" of changes in the federal contribution to DC's Medicaid program that are being proposed by some in Congress.  This DC-specific proposal is part of a package of potential Medicaid cuts that I wrote about in my latest blog post.  Even though the mayor understandably focused on the consequences for local hospitals and health care, she mentioned that there would be effects on other programs, and as we know, this could affect our local disability supports as well.

The House of Representatives committee overseeing Medicaid will meet day after tomorrow to finalize these cuts, as described in this article.  While - as usual - we in DC have little ability to affect decisions that affect us directly, one thing you can do is look at this list of members of the House Energy and Commerce committee, and see if you know anyone in the districts they represent that you can ask to write in opposition to this DC-specific change, as well as any Medicaid reductions being considered in their own state.

We'll all been focused on the House's failure to restore its $1.1 billion in cuts to local DC funding in the current fiscal year, which continues to affect the mayor's presentation of next year's budget.  But these looming Medicaid cuts, if they go through, are even more significant because the effects will extend long before this year and hit the most vulnerable people in DC most directly.

So again, look at that list of members of the House Energy and Commerce committee, and generate those calls, letters and emails to them today and tomorrow!  There's no time to waste!