Policy Resource: Overview of the Executive Branch
Developed in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, this resource provides a detailed overview of the U.S. executive branch, including the White House, Cabinet, and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including organizational charts of key members of the White House policy team and HHS leadership.
Humana Foundation Advances Equity Through Community-Engaged Research Practices
Grantmakers In Health’s Maya Schane spoke with Heather Hyden and Soojin Conover of the Humana Foundation about the Foundation’s recently published report, Strengthening Science and Community Impact Through Equitable Research Practices. The report examines innovative research methods adopted by the Foundation’s partners to promote health equity in public health research through community-engaged research practices.
Collaborating for Impact: Providing Trust-Based Grantmaking and Technical Assistance to Support Local Resilience to Extreme Weather Events
In the last few years, there has been an increased number of extreme weather events, including wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods and heatwaves in the United States. In 2023, the United States experienced 28 disasters that cost at least $1 billion, the largest number of billion-dollar disasters in a single year on record (Smith 2024). While some areas of the country are more susceptible to these threats, there are no regions immune to disasters. According to a recent Gallup poll, 37 percent of adults in the United States report they have been personally impacted by at least one extreme weather event in the last two years, which is higher than the 2022/2023 survey result at 33 percent.
Reforming ERISA to Help States Control Health Care Costs
The federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts many state laws relating to employer-sponsored health insurance and thereby dilutes states’ ability to enact cost-control reforms. This Issue Brief from The Commonwealth Fund assesses past efforts and current opportunities for federal legislation on ERISA preemption to enable state cost-control reforms.
Announcing GIH’s 2023 Policy Priorities: Using Our Voice to Make Systemic Changes
When we launched our strategic plan, we noted that to achieve our vision of better health for all through better philanthropy we would need to use our voice to take a more active role to influence advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas that will advance health and make a lasting, measurable impact. Our current health “system” is not designed to promote health and wellness, but to provide care once a person is sick, and it is built on a foundation of inequity based on health coverage, or a lack thereof.
Let’s Close the Gap on Mental Health for Good in 2023
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, a mental health crisis was growing in America, with 1 in 10 adults reporting symptoms of anxiety or depression. Today, that number is 3 in 10. The recently launched 988 hotline—the mental health equivalent and alternative to 911—is a monumental step forward in changing how we acknowledge and respond to mental health needs nationally. It finally puts mental health on equal ground with physical health—a recognition long overdue—but it is only a first step in addressing the multitude of behavioral health needs.
SASH: Health Equity Begins at Home
A decade ago, primary care practices and housing non-profits in Vermont partnered to reduce chronic conditions among older adults and younger adults with a disability in collaboration with the state’s Blueprint for Health. Today, as an extender of the Blueprint, Support and Services at Home (SASH), which supports healthy aging in place, is helping to advance health equity in the state.
The Gun Violence Epidemic: Lessons From Newark, New Jersey
The Newark, New Jersey community has made remarkable progress improving community safety and reducing gun violence. This past June, a seminal report, The Future of Public Safety: Exploring the Power and Possibility of Newark’s Reimagined Public Safety Ecosystem, was released by Equal Justice USA, the City of Newark, and the Newark Community Street Team. Researchers utilized community participatory research to assess Newark’s impactful approaches to improving public safety.
What Can Be Done About Disparities in Birth Outcomes? Follow The BIPOC Leaders
There has long been a movement of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) birth and reproductive justice leaders addressing the impact of racism and oppression on pregnant and birthing people and their families. Their work has galvanized funders and policymakers to focus their efforts on ending the inequities in birth outcomes, opening up a national conversation about advancing community driven solutions to our country’s perinatal health crisis as well as creating opportunity for change within philanthropy.