KFF Introduces Health Policy 101—A Primer on U.S. Health Policy
KFF launched a new resource —the Health Policy 101 — an online resource or mini “textbook” about health policy for faculty and students. Drew Altman felt the need for a resource like this ages ago, when he was at MIT writing a book on health care regulation and needed a reference with real detail on public programs and health costs. It took a while to produce it but now it’s ready!
CMS Announces an $500 Million Funding Opportunity to Increase ACA Outreach and Enrollment Efforts
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the availability of $500 million in grants over the next five years to increase the number of organizations who help people enroll in health coverage through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) on HealthCare.gov. This is the largest funding allocation CMS has made available for Navigator grants to date.
Ensuring Access to Care: Why Sustaining California’s Health Workforce Investments Matters
California’s shortage of health workers threatens people’s ability to access the care they need to live healthy lives. In response, state policymakers have taken significant steps over the past five years to expand and diversify the health workforce by funding various programs to recruit, educate, train, and retain health workers. However, as the state deals with substantial budget challenges, it is critical that these investments be sustained.
Exploring the Packard Foundation’s U.S. Reproductive Health Initiative
The Packard Foundation has a long history of funding efforts that protect, regain, and expand access to abortion and contraception and funding innovations to expand access to these services as part of its U.S. Reproductive Health initiative. To explore the foundation’s current work, specifically at the state level, Grantmakers In Health’s Miranda Wesley spoke with the Packard Foundation’s U.S. Reproductive Health Director, Elizabeth Arndorfer.
A New Philanthropic Approach to Supporting the Health and Capacity of Rural Communities
To understand health and wellness in rural America, it has been suggested that you need to find a trusted intermediary inside the region that is walking hand-in-hand with the community. Aspen Institute’s Community Strategies Group describes this type of intermediary as a Rural Development Hub. Rural Development Hubs focus on advancing an asset-based, wealth-building approach to rural community engagement and economic development. This inherently includes increasing the health and wellness of the community and its residents; increasing local ownership of all types of assets from cultural, social, financial to political, attracting external resources and funding; and it always includes low-income, under resourced people and places. Hubs seek to transform regions by treating root causes of multigenerational poverty and disease by shifting the balance of power and developing a stronger power base in the community and with those most impacted by the issues at hand.
Expanding Youth Mental Health in Philadelphia Schools
Youth in the United States are in crisis. Rates of depression and anxiety in children have been on the rise, the result of factors like social media, pandemic related issues like isolation, and trauma from gun violence and poverty. Between 2016 and 2020, diagnoses of depression in youth ages 3-17 increased by nearly 30 percent and were higher for children of color and LGBTQ children according to a 2022 study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
‘Digging In’ to Create a Healthy Agriculture System
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders (SAFSF), a Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Philanthropy Support Partner, recently released their first documentary film, Digging In, in partnership with Masika Henson, Nathan.works, and Vatheuer Family Foundation. The documentary aims to help funders understand how land access, consolidation, and climate change affect U.S. agriculture, which are all factors that impact health and equity. To learn more about the creation and inspiration behind the film, GIH conducted the following Q&A with SAFSF’s Executive Director Clare Fox.
How Philanthropy Can Support Los Angeles Homeless Providers Facing Challenges Accessing California Housing Services
In 2022, Cedars-Sinai, HealthNet, and the California Community Foundation launched a philanthropic partnership to support a learning collaborative for 11 providers that serve the unhoused to receive capacity building, policy guidance, and other assistance to take advantage of the new CalAIM Community Supports (CS) housing services. Nonprofit Finance Fund engaged providers and provided capacity building and support to each organization to explore CalAIM and plan for their potential engagement in the Medi-Cal service model. Corporation for Supportive Housing is working on an advocacy agenda with the provider cohort as they experienced challenges and barriers during the process. The goal was for their learnings to inform current and future policy and advocacy discussions about the opportunities, challenges, and needs related to Community Supports to promote the highest quality of care for individuals and families who are at risk of becoming unhoused or who are already unhoused.
Cross-Sector Collaboration to Expand Early Access to Whole-Person, Supportive Cancer Care
For many common cancers, the rates of incidence are on the rise. In 2024, first-time new cases of cancer in the United States are expected to reach two million, or almost 5,500 cancer diagnoses a day, with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities experiencing a higher incidence. Within the health care system, there are multiple challenges to equitable care related to gaps in health insurance, access to care and culturally relevant care models, and discrimination and bias in care and treatment.
Interact for Health
“When we asked our community what we should prioritize ahead of launching a new strategic plan, the response around mental health was overwhelming, especially for youth. This work is urgent and necessary, and the trends of the past few years are a call to all of us to listen to the young people in our lives and center their needs. I’m especially excited that we have co-created a 25-person Youth Action Council as part of our collaborative work on youth mental health in the region. We know that: ‘those closest to the problems are closest to solutions’ and the Youth Action Council is one way we are living out that value.”