DC mayor, health officials speak out against potential cuts to Medicaid

Standing outside Children s National Hospital D C Mayor Muriel Bowser declared if Congress moves ahead with cuts to the Medicaid formula that covers of D C residents the outcome would be devastating At this moment the Federal Healthcare Assistance Percentage or FMAP for the District is a rate that was set by Congress in recognition of D C s constraints in its ability to raise revenue to cover Medicaid costs Cutting the FMAP rate from to Bowser revealed would affect everyone including visitors to the District who may need urgency care for example D C Del Eleanor Holmes Norton explained why the FMAP rate of is needed Congress imposes several revenue limitations on D C For example D C cannot tax income earned in D C by nonresidents depriving D C of more than billion in annual revenue nor can D C permit buildings to exceed certain height limitations or tax its sizable federal property Norton commented These constraints are why FMAP is set higher than multiple states to ensure D C can continue to provide vital services At a news conference on Friday Bowser informed reporters This change for the federal regime wouldn t close any gaps but it would close hospitals in the District Jaqueline Bowens president and CEO of the D C Hospital Association noted that the cuts would affect not just centers that provide pediatric care like Children s National Hospital It s about every hospital It s about every federally-qualified vitality center It s about every nursing home It s about every home-health agency It s about everybody regardless of your ZIP code regardless of your socioeconomic status regardless of where you live she commented Let s be very very clear it s not about others It s about all of us Deputy Mayor for the D C Medical and Human Services Wayne Turnage reported reporters We ll have less money locally to purchase the services that we need if Congress cuts the FMAP rate Turnage added that the loss could approach billion not including the Obamacare expansion D C Fire and EMS Chief John Donnelly introduced himself not just as the fire chief but as the CEO of one of the largest wellness care organizations in the District He noted that his department handles over calls a day We handle everything from cardiac arrest to stroke calls to people with complex anatomical emergencies The kind of people that need to be in hospitals getting great care so they can have a good quality of life Donnelly noted Donnelly addressed lawmakers on Capitol Hill directly saying Be careful with this cut Congress be very careful with this cut Last year alone the department treated and transported nearly patients to local hospitals he added Forty-three thousand of those patients or were Medicaid insured These patients included children Lei-Lei Gerkin attended the news conference with her son Jag who has autism Describing herself as a D C native she informed WTOP We re already facing a lot of challenges In order for us to thrive as humans we need to be supported with wellness care that s reflective of our physical social emotional mental and whole well-being in general Source