September 11, 2025
Via electronic mail
Karima Woods, Commissioner
Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking
1050 1st NE, 801
Washington, DC 20002
RE: Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking Hearing on 2026 Proposed Health Insurance Rates
Dear Commissioner Woods,
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony. My name is Carol Tyson. I am the Government Affairs Liaison for the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund. I advocate on issues important to the disability community including access to healthcare and insurance. I have been a proud District resident for 20 years. I urge you to do everything in your power to keep DC’s 2026 health exchange insurance rates as low as possible and reject the proposed increases of up to 17%.
I rely on an individual marketplace plan. Having access to the health exchange is essential since my employer is based in California and I cannot access my colleagues’ Kaiser plan. My current exchange plan allows me to see in-network doctors and other care providers in DC.
In 2002 I was struck by a bus while riding my bike in DC. My then-DC based employer provided health insurance which allowed me access to trauma doctors, nurses, and an extended hospital and rehab stay that saved my life. I am now an amputee, and have several chronic conditions that can lead to serious, potentially-fatal infections. I do my best to maintain relationships with specialists so that I can stay out of the hospital. I use tools like upper body prosthetics, braces, physical therapy, and treatment for pain so that I can exercise and stay as healthy and strong as possible. Without access to quality health insurance that covers this care I would likely be much more disabled. As it is, my insurance provider sometimes denies coverage for devices or treatments.
I am incredibly lucky to still have a job, yet the future of many non-profits doing advocacy work is uncertain. Any increase in insurance premiums could make it difficult or impossible for me to afford my insurance in the future.
I urge you to also consider the impacts of these proposed increases on other residents and their families, including those with disabilities, their caregivers and others being targeted. It has been reported that thousands could lose access altogether if the increases go into effect and the enhanced premium tax credits are not extended. We must prioritize DC residents’ health in this time of uncertainty when COVID rates are high and there is limited access to some vaccines.
District residents are already suffering due to impacts of the massive cuts to federal job and program funding. In August, DC’s unemployment rate of 6.4% was the highest in the US for the third straight month. DC’s residents are already struggling to pay for more costly groceries and other living expenses.
In the past, DC’s Health Benefit Exchange Authority and industry stakeholders showed a commitment to addressing health disparities in the District, including for people living east of the river. Please consider the impacts increased premiums will have on those communities and all of us that rely on these plans. Please do not make it more difficult for District residents and families to access healthcare.
Thank you again for the opportunity to provide testimony and for all you do on behalf of DC residents.
Sincerely,
Carol Tyson
Ward 4 DC Resident
Government Affairs Liaison
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
ctyson@dredf.org, (215) 983-1965