>>> Download our 2024-2028 strategic priorities
Windham School Based Health Center
Gale Zucker Photography
Gale Zucker Photography
Our Focus
Pathways to health equity
We envision a Connecticut where everyone — regardless of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status — can be as healthy as possible. To make this a reality, we focus on four areas that are critical to ensuring that the next generation will not face the same persistent racial and ethnic health disparities as their parents.
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Expanding health care coverage
Good health requires having access to care. Our vision is that everyone in Connecticut will have health care coverage, and our five-year goal is to expand options for those who do not currently have any.
Why it matters:
Having health insurance is critical to staying healthy and managing illnesses. Research shows that people without insurance are less likely to receive preventive care and have worse clinical outcomes from chronic diseases.
What’s the problem:
Most undocumented residents above age 13 are ineligible for Medicaid and are prohibited from purchasing coverage through the state’s health insurance exchange. People with incomes just above the limit for Medicaid and Covered Connecticut also struggle to afford insurance.
What we’re doing:
- We fund advocacy to expand eligibility for coverage to all immigrants and expand financial assistance for those just above the Medicaid and Covered Connecticut income limits.
- We fund organizations that serve as trusted messengers in their communities to share information about coverage availability and how to sign up.
- We support policy analysis to inform policymakers in their decisions about coverage and affordability issues.
- We monitor to make sure policies are implemented well. This includes monitoring the implementation of Medicaid eligibility for children up to age 13 regardless of immigration status, as well as the expansion of eligibility up to age 15 as of July 1, 2024.
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Sustainable funding for community health workers
Our long-term vision is for community health worker services to be widely available to state residents, integrated into the health care and social service systems, and supported by sustainable payment.
Why it matters:
Community health worker services are widely recognized as one of the most effective tools for advancing health equity. These services can help people get holistic care and make sure their needs are met in ways that are respectful and culturally responsive.
What’s the problem:
Historically, community health worker services have not had a sustainable source of funding, making the roles uncertain and hard to integrate into care on a regular basis.
What we’re doing:
- Providing support and research to support the implementation of Medicaid funding for community health worker services.
- Supporting advocacy by community health workers to assure they have a say in how the field advances.
- Supporting research and advocacy to identify ways to sustainably support community health worker services in community organizations.
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Maternal health equity for people of color
Our vision is for all pregnant people of color to have the opportunity for a healthy pregnancy, birth, and start to parenthood.
Why it matters:
Maternal health is a key indicator of a society’s health and development. It’s critical to assure the health of the next generation.
What’s the problem:
Maternal health disparities are some of the most severe in the U.S. In Connecticut, Black women are nearly three times as likely to die within six weeks of childbirth as white women. Research shows that maternal health disparities cannot be explained by income and education.
What we’re doing:
- Commissioning a blueprint for maternal health equity in Connecticut, informed by people with lived experiences and those working in the field.
- Convening an advisory group that guide the foundation’s work and the development of a blueprint.
- Supporting the implementation of a Medicaid bundled payment for maternity care that includes services by doulas.
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Fostering the infrastructure for health equity
Advancing health equity requires a strong field of advocates, reliable information, and the ability to analyze data on patients’ race, ethnicity, and language preference. We think of these things as the infrastructure needed to achieve health equity.
Why it matters:
Our goal of achieving health equity for people of color could not occur without a strong field of advocates at both the grassroots and grasstops levels who work to drive change. Similarly, advancing health equity requires having reliable information. News coverage that can inform debates about health care issues is necessary to achieve the best health policy. The ability to identify and address disparities in health care and outcomes requires strong processes for collecting and analyzing data on patients’ race, ethnicity, and language preference.What we’re doing:
- Supporting the development of advocacy organizations focused on racial equity and health equity at the grassroots and grasstops levels, and fostering peer-learning among them.
- Supporting news coverage of health policy and equity issues.
- Supporting technical assistance and convening for health systems and other care providers to implement standardized collection and analysis of race, ethnicity, and language data, and to use the data to identify and address disparities in care and outcomes.
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Why focus on people of color?
By many measures, Connecticut is one of the nation’s healthiest states. Yet a closer look at health data reveals major disparities in health by race and ethnicity.