D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray moved to stop Mayor Adrian Fenty from shifting millions into the city’s low-income health insurance program this week, continuing
the showdown between D.C.’s top leaders over the mushrooming cost of the D.C. Healthcare Alliance.
Gray on Monday introduced three disapproval resolutions to prevent Fenty from moving $13 million out of various health programs and into the $100 million-a-year alliance, the free health insurance program for D.C. residents who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid. The chairman introduced similar legislation last week to kill a $4.5 million “reprogramming,” out of concern the alliance’s growth is out of control, its membership soaring from 27,336 in June 2005 to 45,808 in May 2007.
The disapproval resolutions would not take effect without majority council support, and Gray is not expected to let health care bills go unpaid despite his “serious concerns” with how the program is being administered.
Fenty sought to address the chairman’s issues in a seven-page letter sent Friday, in which the mayor explained that higher-than-anticipated enrollment and costly managed-care rates are chiefly to blame for a $40 million increase in alliance costs this year. Fenty touted the alliance as a “success” while acknowledging that Gray asks “important questions about the increased costs of this program…”
The alliance accepts as clients only undocumented immigrants and uninsured D.C. residents between 18 and 50 who earn between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty. The universe of possible members doesn’t seem to justify such a dramatic membership increase, Gray has said, indicating perhaps residents of other communities are finding their way onto the rolls.
In a letter to Fenty delivered late Tuesday, Gray said he would remove each disapproval resolution once the mayor fully addresses a litany of concerns, including providing evidence that the “eligibility determination function is being discharged rigorously.”
“I am hopeful that through a renewed focus on this program, we will be able to avoid future spending pressures, ensure that only eligible District residents are enrolled in the program, and most importantly, continue to provide a high level of quality health care coverage to our residents who are in need,” Gray wrote.
The D.C. Inspector General and consultant Bert Smith are both in the process of auditing the alliance.
Moving money
Where the $17 million comes from
» $2.6 million from Primary Care and Prevention Administration
» $5.3 million from Nursing Home Quality of Care Fund
» $5.1 million Office of Disabilities and Aging
» $4.5 million from various Department of Health funds
