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.
Maternal Mental Health and Immigrant and Refugee Women, Parents and Communities
Pregnant and parenting immigrant, migrant, and refugee women are navigating a landscape marked by uncertainty, fear, and systemic exclusion—conditions that profoundly affect their physical and mental health during the perinatal and postpartum periods and throughout their lifespan. Amid increasingly punitive immigration policies, including family separation, detention, and deportation without due process, these women and their families face extraordinary challenges that endanger their mental health and wellbeing and that of their children. Compounding these harms are policy barriers such as the public charge rule, attacks on birthright citizenship, and exclusion from health coverage and other vital services. These stressors contribute to a growing but under-recognized crisis in maternal mental health, with long-term consequences for families and communities.
Georgia Health Initiative: September 2025
A new report, “Progress Towards Vitality: A 10-Year Retrospective Analysis of Systems Focused Efforts to Improve Maternal Health in Georgia,” analyzes a subset of recommendations put forward by the Georgia Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) and the Georgia House Study Committee on Maternal Mortality to improve maternal mental health in the state.
Behavioral Health Strategies
GIH conducted a survey in late 2024 on funder engagement in behavioral health. This fact sheet, based on a sample of 139 health funders, summarizes the current trends, gaps, successes and challenges for funders. It also highlights philanthropy’s continued commitment to behavioral health while also signaling concern about the upcoming funding environment.
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: July 2025
The Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation announced a new grant opportunity: the Advancing Community Driven Mental Health grant program. This program will fund five community-based organizations with grants of up to $100,000 per year for two years, starting in December 2025, to improve and increase access to community based mental health services for adults experiencing mild to moderate mental health distress and practical problems of daily living, and develop the skills of a non-clinical workforce.
Funder Approaches to Addressing the Critical Connection Between Youth Mental Wellness and Financial Wellness
Curious about the connection between mental well-being and financial security during adolescence and young adulthood?
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, most mental health conditions are diagnosed during the same life stage when young people are building the skills and accessing opportunities that shape their financial futures. Mental and financial well-being are deeply interconnected—each influences and reinforces the other.
When young people experience mental wellness, they’re better equipped to manage money, handle stress, make informed decisions, and seek help when needed. At the same time, financial security reduces one of the most common sources of stress that can contribute to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges. Yet, despite these strong linkages, funders often treat mental health and financial well-being as separate priorities.
How Pew Is Learning to Improve Health Policy
Antibiotics revolutionized medical treatment and are a cornerstone of modern health care. However, the global rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is making infections costlier and deadlier. After a 2008 report commissioned by The Pew Charitable Trusts highlighted these concerns, the organization invested in multiple projects to set limits on the use of antibiotics and to spur the development of new drugs.
Elizabeth Ripley of the Mat-Su Health Foundation to Be Honored with the 2025 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award
Elizabeth Ripley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mat-Su Health Foundation in Alaska, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2025 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award.
Biden-Harris Administration Announces $75 Million Investment in Rural Health Care
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced nearly $75 million to support health care services in rural America. Funding will launch new opioid treatment and recovery services in rural communities, strengthen maternal health care in the South, and help rural hospitals stay open.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation: August 2024
A report titled “Massachusetts Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform: Overview and Implementation Update” examines the state’s implementation of the Roadmap for Behavioral Health Reform, a sweeping set of changes aimed at improving access to the outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment system for all Massachusetts residents.