Grantmakers In Health’s five-year 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. We are also supporting health philanthropy with the thought leadership and programming to create lasting impact by influencing advocacy, policy, and funding in targeted areas. 

This policy agenda identifies our public policy priorities for the coming year. Informed by health funders, these priorities will guide our programming, influence decisions related to issuing public statements on timely policy issues, and focus our emerging advocacy efforts. We hope these priorities will also inspire the field of health philanthropy and encourage greater collaboration and commitment to common policy goals among funders. We look forward to working with funders and others to advance this agenda. 

GIH Health Policy Update Newsletter

An Exclusive Resource for GIH Funding Partners

Health Policy Update: April 17, 2025

April 18, 2025
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In an effort to help our Funding Partners better understand the changing health policy landscape in the new administration and Congress, Grantmakers In Health (GIH) is expanding the GIH Health Policy Update newsletter to three issues per month. Working in collaboration with Leavitt Partners, a leading health care policy consultancy, we are adding new installments of the newsletter on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, while we will continue to partner with Trust for America’s Health on the installment released on the second Wednesday of the month.

2025 Federal Health Policy Timeline

This timeline previews expected and potential federal regulatory and legislative health policy events in 2025. Funding Partners interested in state legislative sessions should visit NCSL’s State Legislative Session Calendar.

A curated, exclusive resource for GIH Partners

GIH Advocacy for the Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA)

The OAA provides critical services that address the social drivers of health for older adults. If the OAA is not reauthorized, it is set to expire on September 30, 2024. Grantmakers In Health (GIH) and Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) announced a partnership last year to engage funders in advancing the reauthorization of this critical piece of legislation.

Support GIH and GIA's OAA Partnership

GIH and GIA are raising funds to support our advocacy work on the OAA, and we still need additional investments to reach our goal. Please reach out to Cecilia Kramer at ckramer@gih.org for more information. We are appreciative of the funders who have already supported this partnership. 

OAA News and Updates

Progress Report: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Campaign

January 31, 2025
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In October 2023, Grantmakers In Aging (GIA) and Grantmakers In Health (GIH) launched an 18-month initiative to engage funders in the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). This report highlights key activities and takeaways and previews future programming.

Download the Report →

Latest Resources

Promoting Health Equity through Paid Leave

Universal paid family and medical leave promotes health equity by improving health and well-being across the life span and reducing socioeconomic disparities.

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Policy Engagement by Local Health Funders

Policies made at the local level have a tremendous influence on people’s health. Our new publication explores how health funders inform and influence local policy decisions that play a critical role in shaping community health and well-being.

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Measuring the Impact of Policy-Focused Work: Difficult but Necessary

What do we know about what works to improve the complex U.S. health care system? How can we spread what works in one setting to other states, health systems, and provider groups? What can we do to move the policy discussion forward and ensure that they are grounded in evidence?

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All Politics are Local: Preemption and Public Health

To accelerate progress toward healthier communities, one of the most important things foundations can do is protect local control by helping their grantees, policymakers, public health advocates and the general public “get smart” about preemption.

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Beyond Grantmaking: Health Foundations as Policy Change Agents

This GIH report seeks to help the field of health philanthropy maximize its strategic potential and minimize the difficulties inherent in taking on new roles by both describing ways funders are directly engaging in policy change efforts and distilling the key lessons learned from these experiences.

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Health in All Policies: What It Is and What It Means for Health Grantmaking

Health in All Policies (HiAP) is an emerging approach to public policymaking, grounded in recognition that the most important determinants of health are outside the reach of the formal health care system. This Issue Focus describes the HiAP concept, its history and evolution, and explores how this approach is poised to influence priorities and programs in the field of health philanthropy.

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