The Medical Assistance Administration is the state agency responsible for administering Title XIX of the Social Security Act, the Medical Charities program, and other health care financing initiatives of the District.

DC Healthy Families is a free health insurance program. DC Healthy Families is funded by the District of Columbia and federal governments. DC Healthy Families is part of a national initiative, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), to ensure that every child has access to health care. DC Healthy Families is for families with children under age 19 and pregnant women who live in the District of Columbia.

Medicaid is a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for certain low-income and needy people. It covers approximately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments.

The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) administers Medicare, the nation's largest health insurance program, which covers 39 million Americans. Medicare provides health insurance to people age 65 and over and those who havepermanent kidney failure and certain people with disabilities.