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Roles for Philanthropy as Medicaid Changes Take Effect
For those of us who have worked toward health equity, who have spent the past few years building toward incremental gains and pushing for larger change, the events of this year can feel like one big backslide. At times, it’s overwhelming. Yet this is not the time to get bogged down by the size of the challenge or by analysis paralysis. From where I sit, I see five roles that philanthropy can play in the rollout of changes to Medicaid.
Protecting Children’s Access to Health Care in Schools: The Impact of Medicaid Cuts on School Health Services
“Due to the remote area we serve, our students have little to no access to medical services otherthan those provided in schools.”—Superintendent from a rural school district in Michigan. Schools are essential places for children to access health services. An estimated 40 percent ofschool-aged children have at least one chronic health condition (National Survey of Children’sHealth, 2019). Among low-income children with special health careneeds, approximately 87percent do not receive necessary care, primarily due to financial costs and limited access (Childand Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative, 2022). Providing health care at school, where children spend most of their days, is crucial to addressing these concerns.
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust: October 2025
Three new fact sheets inform funders about how recent federal budget cuts will impact health care access, food assistance, and the health of immigrant families. The fact sheets detail what is being cut, when the cuts will take effect, and what to do next.
Responding to a Rural Hospital Closure: The Importance of a Phased, Multi-Pronged Approach
It has been over a year since the August 31, 2024, closure of a beloved community hospital in Ayer, Massachusetts following the bankruptcy of the private equity-backed Steward Health Care system. The impacts of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center closure continue to reverberate across this rural working-class region, adding to a growing sense of abandonment and frustration that has accumulated over waves of health care service cuts.
Designing Inclusive and Equity-Centered Health System Improvement Projects—Lessons from Three Initiatives
Disparities in access to health care persist for individuals with low incomes and Black, Hispanic/Latinx and Native American/Native Alaskan individuals and are particularly acute in behavioral health. Behavioral health care utilization rates among Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are less than half those of White adults. These disparities exist because of barriers in access such as limited provider networks, poor language access, a lack of culturally-aligned services, and technological barriers to telehealth. Working with health providers to create inclusive and accessible services is essential to building more equitable access to behavioral health care, and to healthier and happier families and communities.
To Improve Youth Mental Health, Funders Must Center Youth Voices
As youth mental health challenges continue to grow nationwide, a new initiative in Greater Cincinnati believes transformational change begins when youth are empowered to lead.
Publications and Reports
Reducing Hospital Readmissions: What Is at Stake and What Will it Take?
Nearly one in five Medicare inpatients is readmitted to the hospital in the 30 days following discharge, most often for reasons relating to the original hospital stay. Such read missions are very costly, accounting for more than $17 billion annually in Medicare spending. With the view that many rehospitalizations could be averted through improvements in health care delivery, finding the path to reduce read missions and capture the resulting savings has seized the imagination of many policy wonks and spurred attention, along with some action, on the front lines.
Returning the Mouth to the Body: Integrating Oral Health & Primary Care
GIH convened the Issue Dialogue Returning the Mouth to the Body: Integrating Oral Health Care and Primary Care to discuss the benefits, challenges, and approaches to integrating oral health and primary care. This Issue Brief synthesizes key points from the day’s discussion with a background paper previously prepared for meeting participants.
The Supreme Court Decision on the Affordable Care Act: Forging Ahead
On June 28, 2012, the Supreme Court of the United States delivered its decision on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a five-to-four ruling, the court largely upheld the ACA, maintaining important provisions already in place and paving the way for a fundamental transformation of the health care system. Following the decision, GIH held several webinars analyzing the implications of the ruling.