This page has information specific to this district, including contact information for federal and state agencies, and some key information about laws and consumer protections.
To find financial assistance resources, please visit CancerFinances.org.
Click here for information about laws specific to District of Columbia.
Disability Insurance
Federal Disability Insurance (SSDI & SSI)
Social Security Administration
800.772.1213
Bankruptcy
How to File Bankruptcy in Washington D.C. for Free
Filing bankruptcy can be an effective way to eliminate medical bills and credit card debt among other kinds of erasable debts.
Employment
Federal Fair Employment Agency
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
800.669.4000
info@eeoc.gov
Reasonable Accommodations
Job Accommodation Network
800.526.7234
jan@AskJAN.org
Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
U.S. Department of Labor
Wage & Hour Division
866.487.9243
Paid Family Leave
Department of Employment Services
202.724.7000
Unemployment Agency
DC Department of Employment Services Unemployment Compensation Program
202.724.7000
Vocational Rehabilitation
District of Columbia Department on Disability Services
202.730.1700
Estate Planning & Medical Decision Making
Triage Cancer's free State-Specific Estate Planning Toolkit includes information about estate planning in general, and information about Washington, D.C., estate planning documents, and the specific forms you need.
Unemployment Resources
Unemployment Agency
DC Department of Employment Services Unemployment Compensation Program
202.724.7000
Click here to see the current weekly benefit amount and the maximum length of benefits.
Health Insurance
District of Columbia Health Insurance Marketplace (a.k.a Exchange)
DC Health Link
855.532.5465
Health Insurance Consumer Assistance Program
District of Columbia Office of Health Care Ombudsman and Bill of Rights
202.724.7491
Insurance Bureau of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB)
202.724.8000
COBRA
U.S. Department of Labor
Employee Benefits Security Administration
COBRA-District of Columbia
Insurance Bureau of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB)
202.724.8000
Medicaid Programs
DC Medicaid
855.532.5465
State Medicaid Program for In-Home Care
Elderly and Disabled Waiver
Information Packet
State Children's Health Insurance Program
DC Healthy Families
202.639.4030; 800.620.7802; Dental, 866.758.6807
State Clinical Trials Law
The ACA requires that most, non-grandfathered, group health plans provide coverage for the routine costs when participating in clinical trials. Some states have more consumer protections. Click here for more information about clinical trials.
DC ST § 31-2993.01 Health insurance plans (not including Medicare and Medicaid) must pay for routine patient care cost associated with clinical trials.
To be an “approved clinical trial,” one of three options must be fulfilled; first, the trial must be fully funded or approved by one of the following: (1) NIH, (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (3) The Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (4) The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, (5) A bonafide clinical trial cooperative group, including the National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Cooperative Group, the National Cancer Institute Community Clinical Oncology Program, (6) The Department of Defense, theDepartment of Veterans Affairs, or the Department of Energy or a qualified nongovernmental research entity to which the National Cancer Institute has awarded a support grant. Second, the study or investigation can be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), including those conducted under an investigational new drug or device application reviewed by the FDA; or Third, the trial can be an investigation or study approved by an Institutional Review Board registered with the Department of Health and Human Services that is associated with an institution that has a federal-wide assurance approved by the Department of Health and Human Services specifying compliance with 45 C.F.R. Part 46. (Current as of 5/27/2011)
Paid Family Sick Leave
D.C.’s Universal Paid Leave went into effect July 1, 2020. For more information on DC Paid Family Leave click here.
Paid Sick Leave
The District of Columbia's Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act requires most employers in the District of Columbia to provide paid leave to employees for their own or family members' illnesses or medical appointments. An employee can begin using this leave no later than 90 days after they started their employment. Accrual for the hours available to this leave depends on the type of employer you have. This is enforced by the DC Department of Employment Services, Office of Wage and Hour.