Remembering John W. Murphy, Former Leader of the Flinn Foundation and an Early Supporter of Grantmakers In Health
Grantmakers In Health (GIH) mourns the loss of John W. Murphy, a founding member and former board chair of GIH, and 1999 recipient of the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award. He died on October 22, 2025, at age 88. Murphy was a visionary leader and transformative force in health philanthropy, serving as the former President and…
Advancing Health Beyond Health Care: How Policy Wins in Texas Reflect Philanthropic Strategy
At Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF), our vision is to build healthy communities for all by focusing on health beyond the walls of the doctor’s office. In 2024, we launched a new strategic framework that centers on three major action areas: health and health care services, healthy communities, and health policies. Across these areas, we also are prioritizing food and nutrition security, maternal health, and diabetes prevention, as these are critical levers for improving health outcomes in Texas.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
An Exclusive Resource for Funding Partners
The Health Policy Update is a newsletter produced in collaboration with Leavitt Partnersi and Trust for America’s Health. Drawing on GIH’s policy priorities outlined in our policy agenda and our strategic objective of increasing our policy and advocacy presence, the Health Policy Update provides GIH Funding Partners with a range of federal health policy news.
AHRQ Releases Annual Update on U.S. Healthcare Quality, Disparities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has released its National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report, which details the state of healthcare quality and disparities in the United States. The report identifies improvements in HIV and colon cancer care, nursing home care, and medication prescribing to older adults. The report also indicates that more work needs to be done to address disparities in important areas. Among the findings, dental and oral health care services have not substantially improved, particularly for people with low income or who live in rural areas.
Reimagining A Quality Information System For US Health Care
Recommendations include: a national data infrastructure that operates independent of practice setting; aligned multipayer incentives that support needed infrastructure investments; longitudinal patient-reported outcome measures captured both in-clinic and through mobile technologies; a series of robust regional demonstration projects to broaden stakeholder understanding and technical capability; and a governance mechanism that assures both simplification and alignment of methods.
How does cost affect access to care?
In this chart collection, authors from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation Health System Tracker explore trends in how costs affect access to care in the U.S. based on the National Health Interview Survey data through 2020. Health spending per person in the U.S. averaged almost $12,000 in 2020, nearly double the average in other large high-income countries.
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.