^{Original Photo by Rebecca Cooper}

For Immediate Release
May 20, 2026
Sierra Wallace, Communications Director
(202) 355-8431
swallace@dccouncil.gov

The Committee on Health Chaired by Councilmember Henderson Unanimously Approves FY 2027 Budget Report and Recommendations

On Wednesday, the Committee on Health chaired by Councilmember Christina Henderson voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2027 Proposed Budget for the agencies within its jurisdiction, including DC Health, Department of Behavioral Health, Department of Healthcare Finance, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, Health Benefit Exchange Authority, and Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking. The recommendations were developed after several months of hearings, testimony, meetings, and input from the public. The summary below highlights many of the Committee’s notable investments in the FY 2027 budget:

Enhance Support for Behavioral Health and Substance Use Treatment

• Fully fund Bill 26-0226, the “Place-Based Substance Use Disorder Outreach Amendment Act of 2025, which permanently establishes a place-based substance use outreach program, by providing $115,000 in recurring funds for 1 FTE from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Invest in 5 additional Special Police Officers for Saint Elizabeths Hospital with $500,000 in recurring funds to improve patient and staff safety at the hospital.

• Extend critical funding for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s forensic toxicology testing and data analysis by providing $400,000 from the Opioid Abatement Settlement Fund.

• Expand evidence-based adolescent substance use disorder treatment services and community-based treatment options for children, adolescents, and young adults across the District with $396,000 from the Opioid Abatement Settlement Fund.

• Allocate $6,100,000 to increase funding for CBO grants within the SBBH program and recommend the BSA subtitle, the “School-Based Behavioral Health Program Stabilization and Oversight Act of 2026.”

• Invest $2,400,000 to improve behavioral crisis response, including restoring community-based crisis stabilization beds ($600,000), restoring the Child and Adolescent Mobile Psychiatric Service (ChAMPS) program ($1,300,000), and investing in the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Access Helpline ($500,000), all funded through revenue generated by the BSA subtitle “988 Lifeline Support and Sustainability Establishment Amendment Act of 2026”.
  

Improve Health for Birthing Parents and Families

• Fully fund Bill 26-0356, the "Prenatal and Postpartum Remote Patient Monitoring Clarification Amendment Act of 2026”, to cover remote patient monitoring during pregnancy and up to 12 months postpartum, by providing $1,330,000 in FY 2027 and $4,080,000 over the financial plan.

• Restore $1,350,000 in one-time funding for the HealthySteps Program, which embeds mental health specialists within pediatric primary care clinics to provide support during well-child visits for 3,500 children each year from birth to age three.

• Restore $250,000 for Domestic Violence Services grants through transfer to the Committee on Human Services.
  
  

Increase Healthy Food Access

• Extend and expand the Grocery Access Pilot Program to enable over 1,000 low-income residents to purchase groceries online without delivery fees with $200,000 in one-time funds from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Restore lost federal funding for Dreaming Out Loud to provide grocery delivery to low-income seniors out of its Marion Barry Avenue Market and Café in Ward 8 with $200,000 in one-time funds from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Increase Farmers Market Support Grants to $250,000 to support the operations of farmers markets in low food access areas through a transfer with $107,000 in recurring funds from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Provide $400,000 in recurring funds to reduce the waitlist for the Produce Plus Program, which provides $40/month in free food for low-income residents at farmers markets, including a transfer of $300,000 from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Restore proposed cuts of $50,000 for Joyful Food Markets and $98,500 for Home-Delivered Meals through a transfer from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Support the renovation of Food and Friends’ Ward 5 Headquarters to expand access to medically tailored meals with $500,000 annually in FYs 2027-2029 through transfers from the Committee on Youth Affairs and the Committee on Public Works and Operations.  

• Restore the Office of Food Policy and the Food Policy Council and move them from the Office of Planning to DC Health with $413,000 in recurring funds from the Committee of the Whole and the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Fund anticipated costs to implement Bill 26-0444, the “Food Policy Council Procurement Amendment Act of 2025”, with $124,700 in recurring funds for 1 FTE from the Committee on Youth Affairs.
  

Enhance Patient Care and Outcomes

• Approve $3,970,000 in one-time funds to support dental and vision benefits for Alliance adults and $5,733,000 in one-time funds to support vision and dental benefits for Healthy DC Plan enrollees for FY 2027.

• Restore $907,323 for medical services for all Alliance adult beneficiaries currently enrolled in the program at FY 2025 levels, as reflected in the BSA subtitle “DC Health Care Alliance Reform Amendment Act of 2026”, which also maintains eligibility for Alliance beneficiaries at FY 2026 levels (138% FPL).  

• Provide $1,200,000 in FY 2027 and $2,550,000 over the financial plan to maintain  affordable health insurance coverage through the DC Health Benefit Exchange for some lawfully present residents under 100% of the federal poverty level who are losing coverage due to federal policy changes including $450,000 in recurring funds from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Establish a grant program for Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide care to uninsured patients with $800,000 in one-time funds from the Committee on Public Works and Operations.

• Restore $68,000 for tobacco cessation activities by increasing permit fees on tobacco retailers and wholesalers pursuant to the BSA subtitle “Tobacco Permit Amendment Act of 2026”.
  
  

Support Career Pathways for Youth

• Fund the BSA subtitle “Certified Nurse Aide Workforce Support Amendment Act of 2026” providing $150,000 to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to partner with a local university to train at least 25 District high school students to become certified nurse aides (CNAs) through a transfer to the Committee of the Whole.

• Provide $125,000 in FY 2026 and $265,000 in FY 2027 for the Department of Employment Services Career Early Scholars Program for middle-school aged students through a transfer to the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor.
  
  

Protect Patients from High Healthcare Costs

• Fund Bill 26-0438, the “Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2026” to prevent and lessen the harmful impacts of medical debt with $307,000 in FY 2027 and $882,000 over the financial plan.

• Fund the BSA subtitle “Improving Prescription Drug Access Amendment Act of 2026” which authorizes the District to operate a prescription drug discount program so all District residents have access to lower prescription drug costs with $103,871 in recurring funds for 1 FTE at DC Health.

• Provide $526,000 to partially fund Bill 26-0463, the Judith Heumann Memorial Workers with Disabilities Amendment Act of 2026, which establishes a Medicaid Buy-In program for District workers with Disabilities. This funding includes $117,000 for salary and fringe costs and $409,000 for the DC Access System (DCAS) modifications and premium payment collection system over the financial plan.

• Restore $168,000 in one-time funds for the Chronic Illness Initiative grants at DC Health to provide sickle cell treatment, cervical cancer screenings, and mammograms to uninsured residents.  
  
  

Strengthen Rodent Abatement Strategies

• Transfer $100,000 to the Committee on Public Works and Operations for the Department of Public Works to invest in rodent-proof trash receptacles in public spaces with high rodent populations;

• Transfer $100,000 to the Committee on Facilities for the Department of General Services to invest in rodent-proof trash receptacles on Department of Parks and Recreation properties with high rodent populations;

• Restore one Supervisory Sanitarian position within the Environmental Health Administration to oversee and ensure high quality health and safety inspections of food establishments; and

• Restore a Public Health Analyst in the Indoor Environment program within Environmental Health Administration to ensure timely response to residents’ calls regarding pest, mold, and other indoor health hazards.
  
  

Invest in Critical Public Health Positions

• Restore a Bureau Chief within the HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration with $187,342 in recurring funds.

• Restore the Deputy Director of the Interagency Council on Homelessness with $183,836 in recurring funds transferred from the Committee on Human Services.

• Provide a Board Licensing Operations Manager at the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection to oversee Professional Licensing Boards, including Board of Funeral Directors with a transfer of $170,000 in recurring funds to the Committee on Public Works and Operations.
  

Invest in Full Council Priorities

• The Committee is providing $388,500 in FY 2027 and $935,400 over the financial plan to contribute to its priorities within the Committee of the Whole. These include restoring eligibility for DC Health Care Alliance members, Medicaid Direct Medical Education funding for teaching hospitals to train medical residents, and the Pay Equity Fund for early childhood educators.

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