Health Reform

Guidelines

Well-informed voices of consumers and skilled advocates can play a major role in developing a health system to which all residents of the United States have access and which gives them high-quality, affordable care.  Expanding access, improving quality and reducing costs are complementary goals that are essential to reform the healthcare system.  The Health Reform Program seeks to ensure that the voice of the consumer is heard on these issues, particularly at the state and local levels.  The program builds the capacity of strong, interdependent and strategically aligned systems of advocacy with expertise in policy, health law, fiscal analysis, issue campaigns, communications, organizing community and interfaith groups, and building coalitions.
 
We encourage collaboration among advocates within communities, states and regions as well as creative approaches to broadening and deepening the impact of consumer advocacy to create greater value, that is, the best outcomes for the lowest cost. Consumer advocacy organizations can play an important role in advocating for measures that create greater value, among them universal coverage and access, delivery system reforms, and payment reforms.
 
The Foundation has an abiding concern for those who are affected by disparities in health outcomes due to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.  Every level of the health system suffers from lack of equity.  The role of the Program in addressing this problem aligns with its emphasis on fostering strong consumer advocacy organizations. The Program places special emphasis on including those organizations that are led by the populations affected by disparities.
 
The Foundation makes grants to support:
 
  • State-level consumer advocacy and capacity with special emphasis on those states that have access to fewer local and national philanthropic resources.
  • Regional and state efforts to implement federal health care reform and to reform delivery systems to create more value in the health care system. 
  • State efforts to address health disparities through local and state advocacy. 
  • Technical assistance by national organizations to state and local consumer advocates to enhance their capacity to work on health reform implementation, quality and cost reduction, fiscal policy, legal action, organizing, organizational development and communications. 
At its October 2009 meeting, the Public Welfare Foundation Board of Directors announced that, given the changing landscape of health reform and the fact that a long-time goal of the Foundation -- national health reform -- was moving forward, the Board would fully fund its Health Reform Program with nearly $7 million in grants in 2010 and would then step back to assess how to deploy those funds in the future. At its June 2010 meeting, the Board decided to use those funds beginning in 2011 to expand and strengthen its Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program. At this time, all FY 2010 grants in the Health Reform Program have been made.