Public Hearing on Medicaid Credentialing, Prescription Drug Costs, and Food Procurement - March 25, 2026
Public Hearing on Medicaid Credentialing, Prescription Drug Costs, and Food Procurement - March 25, 2026
The Committee on Health, chaired by Councilmember Christina Henderson, held a hybrid public hearing on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from 9:31 a.m. to 12:31 p.m. in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building. The hearing considered three bills: Bill 26-523 (Streamlining Medicaid Credentialing Amendment Act of 2025), Bill 26-593 (Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs Act of 2026), and the Food Policy Council Procurement Amendment Act of 2025. Public witnesses and government officials testified.
Public Comments & Testimony
On Bill 26-523 (Medicaid Credentialing): Multiple health care providers and advocates expressed strong support for the legislation, which would create a single application process for credentialing with Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). They cited excessive delays and duplication. Anita Butani, founder of Bright Day Pediatric Therapies, described MCO credentialing as an "administrative dumpster fire" and argued the current system allows MCOs to profit by delaying care. She noted one MCO took over 120 days to issue a contract and an additional 180 days to countersign. The DC Primary Care Association (DCPCA) recommended including delegated credentialing agreements. Crystal Jackson, a Medicaid doula provider, asked that the bill's language be expanded to include certification in addition to licensure, noting doulas are certified rather than licensed. Community of Hope testified that credentialing can take up to 90 days per MCO, causing financial strain and delayed patient access. The DC Hospital Association supported the bill, noting successful centralized credentialing in Ohio and Nevada.
On Bill 26-593 (Prescription Drug Costs): Heidi Murphy, Operations Manager for ArrayRX (Oregon Health Authority), reported that Connecticut residents saved $2,860,141 from October 2023 to December 2025, with an average savings of $260 per claim. Oregon residents saved $2,904,730 over the same period (average $214 per claim). ArrayRX represented over $1.34 billion in annual pharmacy purchases across five states. The program charges a small administrative fee at point of sale to cover staffing and legal costs. DC Health supported the bill but noted it does not fully address drivers of drug costs and emphasized the need to protect independent pharmacies, which make up 53% of pharmacies in Ward 8.
On the Food Policy Council Procurement Act: A large coalition of witnesses urged passage, highlighting that the District spends over $62 million annually on food across agencies but lacks centralized oversight. Rachel Clark (co-chair of Food Policy Council's Sustainable Supply Chain Working Group) described a 2025 report identifying barriers to values-based procurement. Alex Moore (DC Central Kitchen) strongly supported the bill and called for transparency in emergency food contracts. Daniel Rosen, a return citizen and coordinator of the DC Jail Food Working Group, testified that DOC food is of poor quality (spoiled, moldy) and that the current lowest-cost contract with a Pennsylvania-based corporation fails DC values. Tom McDougall (4P Foods) and Amelia Keeler (Center for Science in the Public Interest) supported the bill and urged incorporating the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP) as the district's framework. Molly Reardon, former Good Food Purchasing Coordinator for Philadelphia, emphasized the need for a dedicated staff role. Multiple witnesses recommended requiring agencies to submit procurement data to the Office of Food Policy and creating a public dashboard. A local farmer testified about the positive impact of local purchasing on small farms and community health.
Discussion Items
Councilmember Henderson engaged witnesses in detailed discussion. With DHCF officials, she questioned the need for redundant site visits and paperwork between DC Health licensing, DHCF enrollment, and MCO credentialing. She noted that providers often submit the same information multiple times and that the 120-day timeline is too long. DHCF expressed concerns about implementing centralized credentialing by January 1, 2027, citing federal requirements and the need for a third-party vendor. They suggested alternatives like expedited credentialing across MCOs. Henderson also discussed with DC Health the implementation timeline for the prescription drug discount card program, noting that aggressive marketing would be needed to achieve uptake (estimated 10% enrollment, 10% of those using it annually). With the Office of Planning, she explored the challenges of fragmented food procurement, lack of data sharing, and the need for cost analysis. Food Policy Director Caroline Howe testified that a dedicated procurement analyst (funded by a federal grant that ends in 11 months) has already achieved wins, such as shared warehouse storage and cost analysis for central food processing. Henderson emphasized that without a centralized system, the District cannot evaluate whether it is getting value for its $62 million food spending.
Key Outcomes
No votes were taken. The hearing record will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 8, 2026, for written testimony. The committee is expected to continue refining the bills based on testimony. The next Committee on Health meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 2, 2026, for a public roundtable on Board of Nursing and Board of Funeral Directors nominations.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning, everyone. I'm at large councilmember Christina Henderson. I'm calling this public hearing of the Committee on Health to Order. Today is Wednesday, March 25th, 2026. The time is 9.31 a.m. Uh, we are in room 412 of the John A. Wilson building, and this is a hybrid hearing with public witnesses testifying uh both virtually and in person, and our government witnesses testifying in person. Today we will consider three bills before the committee, and I'll start by giving a brief description of them in the order that we're going to consider them. Uh first is Bill 26-523, the streamlining Medicaid Credentialing Amendment Act of 2025. Um I introduced this bill alongside Council Members Alan, Bonds, Lewis George Fruman, Nadeau Parker, Robert White. It would require the Department of Health Care Finance to develop a single application process for providers seeking to be credentialed or recredentialed with a managed care organization to provide Medicaid services to district residents. It would also set time frames and notice requirements for the Department of Health Care Finance to respond to applications. Bill 26-593, the lowering the cost of prescription drugs act of 2026. I also introduced alongside Council Members Alan and Doe and Pinto would authorize the mayor to establish a drug discount program by entering a cooperative purchasing agreement with the prescription drug discount program for the purpose of lowering prescription drug costs for district residents. It would expand the authority of the Food Policy Council to evaluate food procurement practices along district government and change their requirements for annual reporting by the Food Policy Council. So we'll turn to our public witness testimony. Um just as a reminder, everyone has three minutes to testify. Our outreach to DHCF highlighted that our member community health centers face a burdensome and duplicative credentialing process. Providers must submit applications separately to each managed care organization, creating delays that compound workforce shortages and limit patient access to care. The Streamlining Medicaid Credentialing Amendment Act of 2025 incorporates our recommendations on centralizing credentialing, provisional credentials, timely notices, transfers of credentialing and inclusion of subcontracts and subcontractors and vendors. DCPCA also recommends that the legislation allows for delegated credentialing agreements between DHCF and qualified entities. The proposed legislation incorporates core principles of efficiency, transparency, and continuity. We appreciate the committee's responsiveness to stakeholder input, and we look forward to continuing to work in partnership with DHCF and the Council to ensure smooth implementation of these reforms. Regarding B 26593, Lowering the Cost of Prescription Drugs Act of 2026, DCPCA appreciates the committee's attention and action to reduce prescription drug costs for district residents. We look forward to working together with council to secure savings for residents and for community health centers using tools such as Array RX and the 340B program, which provides access to essential medications for health center patients and supports community health center chronic disease prevention and treatment services. DCPCA intends to follow up with written testimony for the record. Thank you for the time and I welcome questions. Great, thank you. Ms. Clark. Good morning, Chairperson Henderson and staff. My name is Rachel Clark. I currently serve as co-chair of the Food Policy Council's Sustainable Supply Chain Working Group, and I'm formerly of GW's Redstone Center. I'm here to testify in support of the Food Policy Council Procurement Amendment Act of 2025. For the past several years, one of the working group's priorities has been to improve district food procurement through the purchase of more nutritious, sustainable, and local and regional food, what we collectively refer to as values-based procurement. Each year, the district spends tens of millions of dollars on food to serve children, seniors, and other vulnerable residents. How we spend those dollars determines not only the quality of meals, but also whether we support local businesses, strengthen regional supply chains, and reduce our environmental impact. The district has made several commitments toward these values, such as adopting the Good Food Purchasing Program at DCPS and signing the Cool Food Pledge. However, it has struggled to shift its purchasing behaviors to fully realize those goals. Two years ago, we partnered with the Redstone Center to examine procurement policies and practices in the district to identify barriers to values-based procurement. The research was released in a 2025 report that identified challenges in our food procurement system at every stage of the process. Solicitations are often unclear and do not consistently reflect the district's food goals, even those required by law. Evaluation processes lack food sector expertise and do not reliably select the strongest vendors. The district often pays premium prices without ensuring high quality results. Contracts lack clear, enforceable standards for value values-based procurement, and there's no centralized system for tracking performance or ensuring accountability across agencies. The result is a system where we're spending significant public dollars without consistently getting what we want. This legislation is a practical, necessary step toward addressing these challenges. The creation of a procurement program within the Office of Food Policy will bring much needed expertise, coordination, and accountability into food procurement across district agencies. It will empower the office to support agencies in developing stronger solicitations and contracts, contribute subject matter expertise to evaluation decisions, establish clear citywide food procurement standards, and track performance and outcomes across the district. This bill will help create a system in which we can make real progress on the district's food-related goals for nutrition, local purchasing, and sustainability, and leverage district-wide procurement toward better outcomes and even cost savings.
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