District of Columbia program
District coverage for a child who cannot get Medicaid
District-funded health coverage can help children who cannot get Medicaid [DC Health Care Alliance].
What it is
District-funded health coverage can help children who cannot get Medicaid [DC Health Care Alliance].
Some children cannot get Medicaid because of immigration status. The Alliance offers a separate District-funded route. The benefits office needs to check the reason Medicaid is unavailable.
Eligibility rules
- Birth through age 20, with a different income table for ages 19–20.
- The same published children's table as DC Medicaid.
- Your child must live in the District, be unable to get Medicaid, and have no other insurance.
What you get
- Health coverage for an eligible District child outside Medicaid.
If you decide to apply
- Ask the District benefits office to check the children's Alliance route if Medicaid is unavailable.
- Ask the hospital financial counselor to help review the coverage and the cancer team's participation.
Economic Security Administration: 202-727-5355 · Official page ↗
Good to know
The Alliance does not include free rides to medical appointments.
Coverage details to confirm
- The Alliance uses the same income table as children's Medicaid, and covered care is free for children. Ask the worker for the start date and which doctors take it.
Official sources
“If our child cannot get Medicaid, could Alliance cover treatment? What would it leave us to pay, and could you help us understand the application?”
Why I’m asking: I want to understand how our child can have treatment covered and what costs remain.
More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules
Who does what
The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.
You
Ask for the programme by name if Medicaid is refused.
Your social worker
The oncology social worker can ask on your behalf if you would rather not.
The care team
Records and letters when the application asks for them.
- Who decides
- The Economic Security Administration.
- Ask the agency
- “My child cannot get Medicaid. Please screen us for the DC Health Care Alliance for children.”
How to apply
First step: Ask the benefits office on 202-727-5355 for the DC Health Care Alliance by name.
- If your child is refused Medicaid on status, ask for the DC Health Care Alliance by name.
- Ask how rides to appointments will be paid for, because this programme does not cover them.
Official application / program page ↗
Where it starts: Ask at districtdirect.dc.gov or on 202-727-5355 for the DC Health Care Alliance by name.
What to gather
The diagnosis letter, the child’s insurance card, and the last two pay stubs cover most applications. The official page lists the rest.
How long: No decision clock was published for the children's part.
What a yes looks like
A card for District-funded coverage rather than Medicaid.
What a no looks like, and the next move
Ask what the refusal was based on and ask the hospital about its own assistance in the same week.
Watch out
- It does not pay for rides to appointments. DC Medicaid does.
The numbers and the rules
The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.
What it is worth
District coverage for a child who cannot get Medicaid, at the same published income table.
- $324 — Published children's income threshold, ages 0 to 18
Covers: Health cover for a child who cannot get Medicaid
What it costs the family: No premium was published for the children's part.
The eligibility facts, as published
- Age
- Birth through age 20, with a separate lower income table for ages 19–20.
- Income
- The child-specific published table applies to ages 0–18, with a separate lower table for ages 19–20. The young person must be ineligible for Medicaid and have no other health insurance; the stray 138% sentence does not replace the child tables.
- Residency
- District of Columbia
The trap: It does not pay for rides. Its own 2026 handbook says it does not provide free transportation to appointments, which DC Medicaid does.
Where I read this
- DHCF — DC Health Care Alliance for Children — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026
- DHCF — Health Care Alliance Program Changes 2026 — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026
- DHCF — Health Care Alliance FFS Member Handbook — DC Department of Health Care Finance, read September 10, 2026