OFFICE OF VINCENT C.

GRAY
CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Takiyah “T.N.” Tate

MARCH 16, 2018 ttate@dccouncil.us ● 202.741.0919

Vince Gray Advances Progressive Health Care Legislative Agenda and

Investigation Resolution into Activities at United Medical Center

WASHINGTON, D. C. – The Council’s Committee on Health, chaired by Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent C.

Gray, has advanced a progressive agenda of seven health care bills impacting a wide spectrum of health care
issues. Highlights include:

Bill 22-203, the Birth-to-Three for All DC Act of 2018 keeps the District of Columbia as the nation’s
unquestioned leader in providing educational programs for our youngest residents. As Council Chairman,
Vince Gray led the effort to pass legislation and fund universal pre-kindergarten education to 3 and 4-year olds.
Recognizing that ninety percent of brain development has already occurred by the time a child is five years of
age, this legislation completes the continuum by legislating universal access to high-quality birth-to-three
services. This legislation achieves this goal through first building provider capacity by increasing
reimbursement rates. Then, this legislation expands access to subsidized care, so that no D.C. family will have
to spend more than ten percent of their income on quality care, creating universal access to quality child care.
In addition to being a bill for infant and toddlers, this is also a bill that benefits lower and middle income adults
in the District.

Gray said, “With each passing year it becomes more difficult for working poor and middle-income families to
make ends meet in the District. This legislation allows a parent or parents to focus on their work, knowing that
their children are in a safe and educationally stimulating setting. This progressive legislation sustains the
District of Columbia as the nation’s leader on early childhood education by establishing universal access to
high-quality birth-to-three care and completing the educational continuum from birth to 12th grade.”

Gray thanked Councilmember David Grosso for his efforts on the bill and also Councilmember Robert White
who had introduced a measure to advance developmental services to children birth to three but decided to join
Gray on moving forward the effort to improve access to these important opportunities for District families.

Bill 22-446, the Medical Marijuana Patient Health and Accessibility Improvement Amendment Act of
2018 removes unnecessary barriers that prevent District residents experiencing chronic health care challenges to
legally obtain and use medical marijuana to improve their health and the quality of their lives. This bill also
addresses the income disparities with patients using medical marijuana by establishing safe-use sites, because
while patients in single family homes may smoke medical marijuana without worry, residents in apartments and
public housing cannot.

Vince Gray said, “I am proud to have worked with Councilmember Grosso to make our medical marijuana
program more progressive in the District of Columbia. With the District in the midst of an opioid epidemic, I
want to ensure that District residents who need marijuana for medical reasons can access it just as easily as they
can any other prescription medication.”

The Committee on Health United Medical Center Contracting and Operational Management
Investigation Authorization Resolution of 2018 authorizes an investigation into the tragic situation at United
Medical Center (UMC) that examines: the involvement of the Executive and the UMC Board of Directors in the
awarding of a sole source contract to Veritas of Washington LLC; the management of the hospital by Veritas
and UMC Board of Directors; the circumstances surrounding the elimination of obstetrical services at UMC;
and the circumstances surrounding the three potentially preventable patient deaths at UMC.

“I am very pleased that the Committee on Health authorized an investigation that allows the Committee to
subpoena Veritas officials and hopefully expeditiously recover tape recordings of UMC Board meetings. At the
oversight hearing we learned that a contractor hired by the UMC Board may be deleting records after just 6
months. This is unacceptable. The residents of the District of Columbia deserve answers about how the
politically-connected firm Veritas was awarded a sole source contract and why obstetrical services were
eliminated at United Medical Center,” stated Gray.

Bill 22-172, the Maternal Mental Health Task Force Establishment Act of 2018 establishes a maternal
mental health task force through the D.C. Department of Behavioral Health to provide comprehensive policy
recommendations to improve maternal mental healthcare in the District.

“With infant mortality rates rising again in the District, this legislation is very timely, as it seeks to improve a
critically important, yet are often overlooked factor in maternal health,” Gray said.

Bill 22-195, the Study of Mental Health and Substance Abuse in Immigrant Communities Act of 2018
requires the Department of Behavioral Health to conduct a study to evaluate the impact of the threat of action
by the federal government to deport our immigrant neighbors from the District, and the impact on the mental
health and substance abuse of communities of immigrant populations. The study shall determine if there is a
relationship between mental trauma and fear of removal. It shall also evaluate access to and the use of mental
health services for immigrant populations where English is not the primary language.

In speaking about the legislation, Gray stated, “I believe that this legislation is incredibly important given the
recent actions of federal immigration and customs enforcement officials in the District. The District of
Columbia strives to be a welcoming place where all our residents are greeted with opened arms. The actions of
I.C.E. are repugnant and contrary to the ideals of the District residents.”

Bill 22-354, the Hearing Aid Assistance Program Act of 2018 establishes a hearing aid assistance program
through the Department of Health. “Many of our District seniors suffer from hearing loss, and this legislation
helps to ensure that no one will be unable to purchase a hearing aid because of an inability to pay,” Gray said.

Two final bills, Bill 22-250, the Vital Records Modernization and Animal Regulations Amendment Act of
2018 and Bill 22-511, the Pools without Penalties Act of 2018 clarify existing law and attempt to re-focus the
Department of Health’s efforts back to addressing the serious health equity challenges that exist in the District
of Columbia. The bill prevents further intervention by the Department in the areas of semi-private pool depths,
backyard chickens, and goat yoga.

Gray stated, “The District of Columbia is experiencing a health equity crisis in obstetrical care on the East End
of the City; opioid abuse remains an epidemic; and existing rodent control regulations need to be more
vigorously enforced to stop the surge in the rat population. We cannot afford any more of the Department of
Health’s limited regulatory resources and focus to be misdirected on non-issues.”

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