Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is pleased to release our 2026 Policy Priorities Agenda. Now more than ever, philanthropic organizations must act decisively and strategically to improve the conditions in communities that impact health and to protect communities from harm. We hope these priorities will inspire the field of health philanthropy and encourage greater collaboration and commitment to common policy goals. GIH looks forward to working with funders and others to advance this agenda.
Grantmakers In Health’s strategic plan elevates leadership and influence as one of four strategic pillars for our work. GIH seeks to take a more active role in defining the key issues that will advance better health for all, including by supporting health philanthropy to create lasting impact by influencing advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas.
To deliver on this, GIH has partnered with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, to develop a set of policy, advocacy, and legal strategy resources that aim to inform funders about the important health policy trends in the White House and Congress.
Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is grateful to the 30 co-signatories who joined us in submitting a comment letter responding to a proposed Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Interim Final Rule requiring adult Medicaid beneficiaries to work or perform community service for 80 hours per month or risk losing their Medicaid benefits.
If implemented, the Interim Final Rule would create procedural barriers to coverage for eligible individuals and families, while imposing significant administrative burdens across the Medicaid ecosystem, including for beneficiaries, community-based organizations (CBOs), and health care providers.
GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter
An Exclusive Resource for GIH Funding Partners
GIH’s Health Policy Update newsletter, published twice a month, is an essential resource for helping our Funding Partners to better understand the changing federal health policy landscape.
Policy and Advocacy Resources
Summary of Medicaid Community Engagement Interim Final Rule
Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy Report
2026 Federal Health Policy Timeline
This timeline previews expected regulatory and legislative health policy events in 2026.
Funding Partners interested in state legislative sessions should visit NCSL’s State Legislative Session Calendar.
2026 Congressional Calendar
When each house of congress will be in session in 2026.
Overview of the 119th Congress
A detailed overview of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, including leadership in both houses and key committee and subcommittee members.
Congressional Staff and Member Outreach
A detailed overview of how congressional offices, committees, and leadership are staffed. In addition, it provides recommended best practices for meeting with Members of Congress and their staff.
Regulatory Comment Writing
This resource provides an overview of how to write and submit a regulatory comment to the federal register.
Upcoming Policy & Advocacy Events
Legal Strategy Resources
Health-Related Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda
This Grantmakers In Health policy resource summarizes health-related executive orders and presidential memoranda issued since 2015, highlighting implications for health funders. It tracks directives on behavioral health, Medicaid, prescription drugs, federal grantmaking, DEI, gender-affirming care, child welfare, vaccines, and related litigation affecting implementation.
August 2026 Executive Order on Childhood Vaccines: Overview, Implications, and Stakeholder Reactions
This Grantmakers In Health policy resource provides an overview of the August 2026 executive order on childhood vaccines, including the restructuring of the federal immunization schedule, the directive to split the MMR vaccine, implications for insurance coverage, family costs, and state exemption laws, and reactions from stakeholders.
Select Legal Challenges Relevant to Health Funders in 2026
This resource highlights key court cases that could affect health funders, their communities, and their partners. It focuses on legal challenges to changes in federal programs and policies implemented by the current Administration. The brief also highlights significant cases related to health funders’ priorities. Understanding these cases can help funders anticipate changes in federal policy, assess potential implications, and identify opportunities to support or protect health programs and services.
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Health and Democracy Index
The Health and Democracy Index presents a wide range of health indicators and correlates these indicators to voting policies using the Cost of Voting Index. It’s designed to provide a shared health equity analysis of voting policy and serve as a tool to strengthen civic and voter participation.
Pivoting to Advocacy and Organizing
This post to Exponent Philanthropy’s blog by Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation describes the value and impact of the foundation’s shift toward funding advocacy, organizing, and citizen-engagement capacity.
Changing the Landscape: People, Parks, and Power
Prevention Institute recently published this report which proposes an approach to addressing park and green space inequities that prioritizes building power among people closest to the problem so that they can drive policy and systems change solutions.
Investing in the Power of Young People: 20 Years of Philanthropic Support for Youth Organizing
Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing (FCYO) has released its 2020 Funder Scan which evaluates the critical role philanthropy has played in shoring up a youth organizing field poised to meet the multiple challenges of this moment. This report is part of FCYO’s 2020 National Youth Organizing Field Scan, a series of four reports that together offer an in-depth look into a field that has grown in significant ways over the last two decades.
Why Redistricting Matters
Vitalyst Health Foundation has released a policy brief which describes the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (AIRC) and discusses which eight of Arizona’s 19 charter cities conduct their own local process. The brief also explores the multiple ways people can engage to provide input so that community well-being can get the representation and resources it deserves.
Tracking Health Policy Trends in Texas
The Episcopal Health Foundation recently released the latest Texas Health Policy Poll Report, a statewide public opinion survey that gathers Texans’ opinions on a variety of important state health policy issues. Our objective is to use the poll findings to inform the discussion on state health policy priorities.