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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Upcoming Events on Access and Quality
Safeguarding Medicaid and SNAP in the Wake of H.R. 1
As H.R. 1 begins to reshape the landscape of safety programs, charitable foundations face a pivotal moment. The legislation delivers sweeping tax cuts to corporations and high-income earners—while dramatically reducing funding for essential programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These cuts threaten the well-being of millions of families, children, and seniors, and shift the financial burden to already overstretched state and local governments.
Now more than ever, philanthropic organizations must act swiftly and strategically to mitigate harm. A key opportunity lies in supporting states as they navigate urgent administrative and implementation challenges—ensuring vulnerable populations don’t fall through the cracks.
SNAP Strategy Funder Working Group: Advocacy Opportunities
Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders and Grantmakers In Health are forming a funder Working Group for a coordinated, strategic response to the SNAP cuts in H.R. 1. The Working Group comes as an actionable response to insights shared by field leaders in a SNAP-focused webinar earlier in October.
Recognizing the far-reaching implications of SNAP for food security, health, and economic equity, this Working Group will serve as an information hub and a strategic coordination space, designed to help funders act quickly, effectively, and in alignment with one another. We will organize three Working Group meetings to start and then assess next steps.
The first call will focus on opportunities for funders to support and engage in policy advocacy to protect SNAP on a federal and state level. In addition to connecting with peers, funders will hear from Joel Berg, CEO of Hunger Free America, who will provide a policy landscape update from D.C., and Joey Hentzler, Program Manager at MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, who will share about MAZON’s policy engagement and rapid response funding.
GIH Health Policy Exchange 2025
The GIH Health Policy Exchange provides policy-engaged funders with information on current issues, access to leading thinkers, and connections with grantmaking peers. This year’s theme is Protecting the Freedom to Give. Against a backdrop of recent federal funding cuts, executive orders, and threats to philanthropy, it is more important than ever for health funders to educate, advocate, and collaborate to support the people, places, and things that are important to us. This year’s Health Policy Exchange will be held November 18 – 21, 2025, at The Westin Arlington in Arlington, VA.