Today we remember residents the District lost 18 years ago, including three students and three teachers who boarded the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon. On the southwest side of the Pentagon, yards from where terrorists flew a jet into the building, find the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

THE NEWS: 

While the number of Americans without health insurance increased significantly last year, the number of D.C. residents without insurance decreased.

D.C.’s uninsured rate went from 3.8 percent in 2017 to 3.2 percent in 2018, according to federal data released Tuesday. About 27.5 million people, or 8.5 percent of the population nationwide, lacked insurance in 2018. Meanwhile, the District has the second-lowest uninsured rate in the country, just after Massachusetts, and joins six states whose uninsured rate is less than 5 percent. 

Why are more people without health insurance nationwide? Experts credit the Trump administration. The change was largely driven by the drop in public insurance, or Medicaid—a decrease of 0.7 percent. 

“New Census Bureau data shows large increases in the uninsured rate in 2018 among Hispanics and people who are not citizens, as the Trump administration has taken steps to curb immigration and discourage [the] use of Medicaid among people seeking green cards,” says Kaiser Family Foundation’s (KFF) Larry Levitton Twitter. 

States with the most uninsured people are states that didn’t expand Medicaid eligibility under the Affordable Care Act (commonly known as Obamacare). D.C. expanded Medicaid early, beginning implementation ahead of schedule in 2011.   

It’s clear a lot of Washingtonians have health insurance, but what’s less clear is the quality of that insurance. Underinsurance, or the state of having high-deductible plans or high out-of-pocket costs relative to income, is a real problem. In 2017, 15.5 percent of non-elderly people who have health insurance either skipped or delayed medical care due to cost or inability to pay the bill, according to a recent KFF analysis. 

Have you had to skip or delay medical care even though you have health insurance? Tell us about the quality of your health insurance by replying to this newsletter or emailing me directly. —Amanda Michelle Gomez (tips? agomez@washingtoncitypaper.com)

MORE NEWS YOU CAN USE:

  • 16 year-old Steffen Brathwaite, of Southeast D.C., was fatally shot; 119 homicides this year. [Twitter, MPD]

  • D.C. public schools let students receive medical marijuana treatment. But charter schools set own rules. [Fox5]

  • Muslim engineer who rebuilt Pentagon is an unsung 9/11 hero. [Post] 

  • ICYMI: Police data reveals racial disparities. [WCP]  

LOOSE LIPS LINKS, by Mitch Ryals (tips? mryals@washingtoncitypaper.com) 

  • Republican congressmen want Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans to sit for an interview. [WCP]

  • Prosecutors in the D.C. attorney general’s office dropped charges against a man who burned an American flag in front of the White House. [Post]

  • How many people does D.C. imprison? And how does the District compare? [WAMU]

  • Metro will spend over $1 billion next year, but how will they divide the costs? [WTOP]

  • Virginia Democrats get $500,000 boost from PAC. [Post]

  • Ward 8 residents and activists are pissed about Councilmember Trayon White’s tax increment finance legislation for the Reunion Square development. [Change.org] (We don’t endorse petitions, FYI. It’s just news.)

YOUNG & HUNGRY LINKS, by Laura Hayes (tips? lhayes@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • Why Brookland wine bar Primrose will change its name and serve Guatemalan food for two days this fall. [WCP]

  • The Meatball Shop is being replaced with another New York Import, Mexicue, on 14th Street NW. [WCP]

  • Call Your Mother is a “best new restaurant” nominee. [Bon Appetit]

  • Critic Tim Carman tries out Tsehay Ethiopian in Park View. [Post]

ARTS LINKS, by Kayla Randall (tips? krandall@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • The Nicholson Project, a new residency for artists, opens this weekend. [DCist]

  • A teen recorded a song honoring a local Marine killed in Afghanistan. [Post]

  • BSO musicians and management are still fighting over a new contract. [WAMU]

  • Here’s how to draw the presidents. [Washingtonian]

SPORTS LINKS, by Kelyn Soong (tips? ksoong@washingtoncitypaper.com)

  • In a candid conversation with the Wall Street Journal, Kevin Durant says that “some days I hate the circus of the NBA,” and elaborates on his “toxic feeling” toward the Oklahoma City Thunder organization.[WSJ]

  • ESPN media personality and former Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser has returned to the radio. The Tony Kornheiser Show debuted yesterday on ESPN 630’s “The Sports Capitol,” which is aired on WMAL’s 630 AM station. [Radio Ink]

  • A historic two weeks for Maryland football has resulted in 13,000 student ticket requests for the Friday night game against Penn State on Sept. 27, the most since the school began the lottery system in 2002. [The Diamondback]

MAKE PLANS, by Emma Sarappo (Love this section? Get the full To Do This Week newsletter here. Tips? esarappo@washingtoncitypaper.com)

Sign up: To get District Line Daily—or any of our other email newsletters—sent straight to your mailbox, click here. Send tips, ideas, and comments to newsletters@washingtoncitypaper.com.