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.
Planning for the End of the Continuous Coverage Requirement: A Communications Toolkit for States
The end of the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement presents states with tremendous opportunities to keep individuals enrolled in health coverage. This toolkit provides a communications planning guide and template communications resources designed to support state Medicaid agencies as they prepare for the upcoming end of the continuous coverage requirement.
What Eliminating Barriers to Interstate Telehealth Taught Us During the Pandemic
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly all states and the federal government approved unprecedented flexibilities that significantly aided the response to the crisis by expanding telehealth, bolstering care in underserved areas, increasing access to mental health services, and importantly, providing some relief for overstressed hospitals and health systems losing health care workers. Now, as temporary waivers in most states are expiring, this publication describes opportunities to apply lessons learned to bring long-term benefits to the health care system.
The Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Primary Care Access for Underserved Populations
This report reviews the research literature to assess the evidence supporting whether policy initiatives targeting primary care access in each of these five dimensions have been effective in reducing health care disparities. The policy initiatives considered vary widely in terms of the decisionmakers best suited to implement them and therefore require multi-sector collaborative solutions to improve access to primary care in underserved areas.
Mindfulness and Healing Justice
The Kataly Foundation’s Mindfulness and Healing Justice program hosted a discussion with grantee partners to explore the connections between healing, collective transformation, and power-building. The conversation highlighted the need to meaningfully resource mindfulness and healing justice work led by Black and Indigenous people and all communities of color.
Realizing Parity, Reducing Stigma, and Raising Awareness
The Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Labor, and Department of the Treasury have released the 2022 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act report to Congress. The new report provides updates on compliance, enforcement, and consumer protection efforts.
Behavioral Health Data Added to Health Equity Tracker
The Health Equity Tracker, supported by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, Annie E. Casey Foundation, CDC Foundation, Gilead Sciences, Google.org, and AARP, recently announced the creation of a behavioral health category and the addition of six indicators related to mental health and substance use.