Bridging The Health Divide: DC’s New Initiatives Address Longstanding Health Disparities

In a city known for its affluence and political prowess, stark health disparities persist, particularly east of the Anacostia River, where predominantly Black neighborhoods have long experienced limited healthcare infrastructure, fewer providers, and poorer health outcomes. Recent policy shifts and healthcare initiatives now aim to address these inequities, but questions remain about their efficacy and reach.

MedStar Health’s Urgent Care Expansion in Ward 6

In December, the Statewide Health Coordinating Council (SHCC) approved MedStar Health’s proposal to establish a 4,000-square-foot urgent care clinic at 1243 3rd Street NE in Ward 6. This facility is designed to alleviate the burden on existing clinics in Adams Morgan and Capitol Hill, which are nearing capacity. The new clinic will offer triage, exam rooms, on-site X-ray, point-of-care lab testing, and teleconsultation access to specialists. Importantly, MedStar has committed to accepting a broad range of insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid.

Dr. Elizabeth Delasobera, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of MedStar Health Ambulatory Services, emphasized the clinic’s inclusive approach. “We prioritize seeing everybody,” she said.

However, during the SHCC meeting, concerns were raised about the prevalence of mental health and substance use issues in the surrounding neighborhood. Dr. Barbara J. Bazron, a committee member, noted: “There are many people with substance use and mental health disorders in that area who will need urgent care.”

MedStar acknowledged that telepsychiatric services are not yet fully integrated at urgent care sites but stated that referral navigators help connect patients to ongoing behavioral health care. Providers can also escalate cases to emergency department teleconsults when necessary. The committee approved the certificate of need with the condition that MedStar submit a follow-up report detailing plans to expand behavioral health and substance use disorder support.

Continuity of Dialysis Services at Deanwood Rehabilitation & Wellness Center

The SHCC also approved Deanwood Rehabilitation & Wellness Center’s application to continue providing home hemodialysis services to its 296-bed nursing home residents. With the previous vendor, Total Renal Care, exiting its lease, Lealon Dialysis will assume operations to ensure uninterrupted care. This transition is crucial for Ward 7 residents, who are predominantly Black and older, and rely heavily on consistent dialysis services.

Committee members praised the presentation’s clarity and approved the request without objection.

Advancements in Proton Therapy at Sibley Memorial Hospital

Sibley Memorial Hospital reported progress in its proton therapy program, which has been operational since late 2019. To date, over 2,000 patients have received treatment, with prostate cancer, pediatric cancers, and central nervous system tumors being the most common cases. Approximately 17% of patients treated in fiscal year 2025 were D.C. residents. The hospital continues to collaborate with Unity Health Care and other federally qualified health centers to enhance access for underserved communities.

Dr. Curtiland DeVille Jr., the program’s medical director, described proton therapy as “a more targeted form of radiation treatment.” He explained that, compared with conventional X-rays, protons have no exit dose. That means less radiation exposure to healthy tissue, which is especially important in younger patients.

Medicaid Eligibility Changes and the Introduction of the Healthy DC Plan

On January 1, significant changes to the D.C. Medicaid program took effect. Income eligibility thresholds for adults have been reduced from 221% to 138% of the federal poverty level. As a result, approximately 18,000 adults lost full Medicaid coverage. To mitigate this, the District introduced the Healthy DC Plan, a no-cost health coverage option for adults who no longer qualify for Medicaid. This plan aims to provide continued access to essential health services, including urgent care, dialysis, and cancer treatments.

The Healthy DC Plan, however, has an income cap of 200% of the federal poverty level, compared with Medicaid’s previous 215%. This change raises concerns about potential coverage gaps for those who fall just above the new threshold. For people who qualify for some premium relief, it is not going to be sufficient, especially for people who need medical care and will be faced with deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs.”

Addressing Longstanding Health Disparities

These developments are particularly significant for Black communities in D.C., who have historically faced systemic barriers to healthcare access. Studies have shown that African American residents in Wards 7 and 8 are disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses such as hypertension, diabetes, and kidney disease. The expansion of urgent care services, continuity of dialysis treatment, and advances in cancer therapy are critical to addressing these disparities.

For Black residents in Washington, uneven access to healthcare is not new. It is the product of decades of segregation, hospital closures east of the Anacostia, underinvestment in preventive care, and higher exposure to the chronic conditions that come from environmental stress, poverty, and systemic racism. When a dialysis provider changes hands, or when an urgent care opens in one ward but not another, or when Medicaid eligibility is tightened, those decisions land hardest on Black bodies.

Bureaucratic decisions have real-life consequences. Dialysis is not optional care and interruptions can be deadly. Urgent care access determines whether people rely on overcrowded emergency rooms that already disproportionately serve Black and low-income patients. Cancer treatments like proton therapy raise questions about whether advanced medicine is truly accessible to Black children and working-class families, or whether geography and insurance still dictate the outcomes.

These approvals are happening at the same time that thousands of D.C. residents are losing full Medicaid coverage. That tension between expanding services on paper while narrowing who can afford to use them is a policy contradiction worth scrutiny. The introduction of the Healthy DC Plan may soften the blow, but it does not erase concerns about coverage gaps, out-of-pocket costs, and whether people with chronic illnesses will actually be able to sustain care.

These kinds of policy decisions rarely make headlines, yet they shape life expectancy, disease management, and quality of life in Black neighborhoods. This is why health policy decisions must be brought out of the shadows so that equity is not just promised. It must be monitored, questioned, and challenged to ensure that the communities most in need receive equitable access to quality healthcare.

Zoe Cummings is a senior honors journalism major and Spanish minor at Howard University, covering HBCU news, politics, and culture. You can follow her on Instagram @zoesxphia.

Grant Roundtree is a senior journalism major and political science minor at Howard University. He is interested in stories about culture, sports, politics, and issues affecting local communities. He can be reached on Instagram at @grantroundtree.