CEO Discussion on Emerging Challenges

Health funder CEOs are grappling with a fast-changing operating environment affecting many aspects of their work. As a response, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is convening a special webinar on Monday, October 6 at 4:30pm ET to help CEOs navigate philanthropy’s emerging challenges and share resources GIH has created to assist in meeting the moment. We will be joined by GIH’s legal advisors, who will provide a rundown of the current legal landscape, as well as representatives from FGS Global, GIH’s crisis communications consultants. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions, share concerns, and provide insights.

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Medicaid’s Role in Preventing & Ending Homelessness

While it was never the pathway to ensuring health care as a human right unto itself, Medicaid inarguably saves lives. Millions would be homeless if not for the services Medicaid supports, and those who experience homelessness rely on it to survive. But the federal government has drastically threatened Medicaid’s power. This webinar was a timely discussion on how Medicaid prevents and helps to end homelessness, the status of federal funding for Medicaid, state-level opportunities for organizing, and what philanthropy can do to mitigate the harms of defunding this crucial component of the social safety net. Speakers included Michelle Schneidermann of the California Health Care Foundation and Bobby Watts of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

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Health Care Policy in 2025: What Comes Next?

President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4, 2025, enacting historic cuts to Medicaid, the ACA marketplace, SNAP, and more – via work requirements, copays, and stricter eligibility verifications. According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, the new law will increase the number of people without health insurance in the United States by 11.8 million by 2034. Health policy experts warn that these changes will exacerbate health access issues, worsen health disparities, and threaten the financial viability of rural hospitals. In this webinar, experts from Leavitt Partners provided an overview of the recent legislation, the impact on health and health care, and what foundations can do to support communities and nonprofits in the next six months. Speakers included Laura Pence, and Sara Singleton from Leavitt Partners, and Kristina Ramos Callan from Health Management Associates.

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Advancing State Data Collection on Opioid Treatment

This webinar learned about a national initiative launched by the Pew Charitable Trusts that offers states a core set of metrics to track opioid treatment access and use. Presenters described how better data collection can target critically needed progress and discuss the role philanthropy can play in these efforts.

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Caring for Our Health Care Workforce: Challenges and Opportunities for Philanthropy

This webinar helped participants to better understand the landscape of health care workforce needs, discuss the strategies that attendees are currently engaged in, and highlight the ways philanthropy can build on existing state and federal efforts to ensure a comprehensive response.

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Improving Equitable Outcomes for Mothers and Children by Expanding the Doula Workforce  

Leaders in the field discussed policy actions and explored opportunities for philanthropic engagement in the expansion of doula services.

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Trends in Routine Vaccination and Preventive Services for Children

A robust conversation was held on evidence to date about missed immunizations and well-child visits, gaps in data, and implications for children’s health and public health.

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Building an Integrated Behavioral Health Workforce for Children and Families

Participants explored multi-year initiatives that build the capacity of community health centers to deliver high-quality, evidence-informed, trauma-responsive, integrated behavioral health care to children and adolescents.

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Reinforcing the Safety Net: Ensuring the Future of 340B

This webinar focused on the critical role the 340B Drug Pricing Program plays in financing health services in the United States.

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Disability Justice: What Funders Can Do to Address Disparities, Equity, and Health

This webinar explored innovative measures to address how philanthropy can advance disability justice and how grassroots organizations are helping to change the national dialogue on disability, health equity, and race.

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CEO Working Group on Access and Coverage Call

Leaders in the field discussed the challenges this presents to states, and explore the strategies state officials and consumer advocates are designing to promote coverage retention.

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Rural Health Care Workforce: Urgent Challenges and Promising Opportunities

This webinar started with an update on rural health care workforce challenges and opportunities which led to an in-depth discussion about philanthropy’s engagement in filling gaps and supporting communities.

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Racial Inequities in Medical Debt: Causes and Potential Solutions

This discussion covered viewpoints on the problem of medical debt, the people most at risk, and potential points of engagement for philanthropy.

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Legislative Opportunities to Increase Health Care Access and Coverage

This webinar discussed the key features of the American Rescue Plan Act and the Build Back Better framework—which include extending marketplace subsidies, addressing the Medicaid coverage gap, providing funding for clinics and health centers, supporting consumer assistance and enforcement, funding reinsurance and affordability programs—and discussed philanthropy’s opportunity to engage in the resulting work in communities across the country.

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Standing Together: Philanthropy’s COVID-19 Relief Funds and Immigrant Communities

This webinar featured a dive into the findings and a discussion on how foundations can prepare for future relief efforts.

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Rural Health Leadership Group

During this fourth conversation in the GIH leadership series on rural health, we learned about key resources available for rural communities through the American Rescue Plan. Including large federal funding programs that are seeking applications, or will be rolled out in coming months.

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Elevating Equity in Children and Families Grantmaking

In this on-demand webinar, participants will hear about one funder’s efforts to ensure that all families have access to the resources they need to raise thriving children, with a health equity lens at the center of their internal and external work.

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CEO Working Group on Access and Coverage Quarterly Call

Grantmakers In Health convened the CEO Working Group on Access and Coverage to strategize about philanthropy’s role in addressing challenging topics.

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Preparing for the End of the Public Health Emergency: State Strategies for Coverage Retention

This webinar explored the key issues that states will face at the end of the PHE and strategies that are being designed to ensure families no longer eligible for Medicaid will not go uninsured.

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Upcoming Events on Access and Quality

Behavioral Health in the Balance: Navigating the Impact of the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Act

Medicaid is the single largest payer for behavioral health services and is increasingly responsible for substance use disorder reimbursements. In July 2025, H.R.1 was signed into law containing an estimated $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years, resulting in almost 15 million people losing health coverage, according to Congressional Budget Office estimates. The pressure on states to cut spending is immense, and behavioral health services will not be immune. Join GIH for a discussion on the behavioral health implications of H.R.1 and opportunities for funders to get involved now. Bill Smith and Angela Kimball from Inseparable will summarize H.R.1 from a behavioral health perspective. Neel Harja and Sarah Wasil from Michigan Health Endowment Fund and Itai Dinour and Hazel Guzman from Carmel Hill Fund will provide examples of how funders are responding to this challenging situation.  Funders will leave the webinar with actionable ideas to protect access to behavioral health services in their states.

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CEO Working Group Webinar: New CEOs

It is a difficult time for many, but especially for those who are new to their role. Grantmakers In Health is pleased to convene the CEO Working Group in October, to offer foundation leaders who have been in their position for less than five years the opportunity to discuss the challenges they are facing as new CEOs with one another and seasoned leaders in the field. These calls are open to GIH Funding Partner CEOs, Presidents, Executive Directors, or the highest-ranking health staff at multi-issue foundations. During these candid, confidential conversations, philanthropic leaders share information, swap strategies, raise concerns, and ask for one another’s advice.

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Funder Collaborations to Protect Science

Scientific research is the foundation of public health, driving innovation, policy, and life-saving interventions. But deep federal cuts and workforce reductions threaten to unravel decades of progress. In response, funders are organizing and taking action to protect the scientific enterprise. This webinar spotlights two funder collaborations: FACTS—a table for learning and discussion and the Portfolio to Protect Science—a coordinated effort to secure key parts of scientific research. Speakers will share how these collaborations emerged and opportunities for funders to engage.

Speakers include Caroline Montojo, President and CEO, Dana Foundation, Sam Gill, President and CEO, Doris Duke Foundation and Julie Morita, President and CEO, The Joyce Foundation. The conversation will be moderated by Cara James, President and CEO of Grantmakers In Health.

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