Health Care Reform Advocacy

Currently no funding opportunities are available in Health Care Reform Advocacy. Read on if you are interested in learning more about our most recent funded effort in this area:

NWHF Health Reform Advocacy Learning Cohort

One of the Northwest Health Foundation’s guiding principles is “all people should have equal access to a basic level of quality health care.”  Another is that “promoting upstream, systemic change through advocacy is often the most effective strategy for improving community health.” These principles, along with those around equity and social justice, shape Northwest Health Foundation’s work in health care reform advocacy.

As part of this work, we believe that the inclusion of a broad array of voices in the health reform conversations is necessary to ensure that the health care system is designed to address the needs of all Oregonians. We have been funding these kinds of efforts over the past three years and will continue to do so in 2012.

In February 2012, the Oregon Legislature passed the Oregon Health System Transformation bill (SB 1580) that paves the way for the creation of Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs), as well as the bill that approved the business plan for the Health Insurance Exchange (HB 4164). Now the real work of actually transforming Oregon’s broken health care system can begin. CCOs must be designed to be innovative models of health care delivery that save costs, increase quality, and incorporate incentives to keep people healthy. We have the opportunity to continue to distinguish Oregon as a national leader in heath care. 

On January 25, 2012, Northwest Health Foundation hosted a group of health care reform advocates to engage in a dialogue that provided the foundation with input on how to best leverage its resources to advance health reform in Oregon. The meeting began with a visioning process about health in Oregon in 2015, which included the following highlights:

• a cultural shift toward supporting maximized health in the broadest sense—including upstream approaches to achieving health—will exist;
• the health system (including CCOs) will be working for all Oregonians;
• concrete steps toward achieving health equity will be in place; and
• the health reform advocacy community will be working together more effectively, with increased power and voice.

In addition, the group identified key strategies that will be needed in 2013 to reach this 2015 vision, which include:

• ensuring greater public participation in health reform;
• focusing on messaging for public will-building;
• working with CCOs to foster innovative approaches to enhance health; and
• for the health reform advocacy community, obtaining a shared understanding of each other’s work and engaging in joint strategizing.

The results of this dialogue, in conjunction with the recent legislative health reform activity, served as the context for NWHF’s program to support our health care reform advocacy partners in 2012.  In April 2012, we completed a “request for proposals” for general operating support of health care reform advocacy activities.

The foundation is now offering participation in a health reform advocacy learning cohort, with the dual purpose of increasing the capacity of individual organizations and enhancing the health reform advocacy field in Oregon. Through the Learning Cohort, the NWHF seeks to increase capacity for advocacy organizations working on health care reform in arenas such as communications, policy analysis, grassroots organizing, and other subjects identified by participants.  The NWHF also hopes that the Cohort will strengthen the advocacy movement in the state and assist organizations in developing a unified voice and sustainable and mutually accountable working relationships.

Groups participating in the Learning Cohort will receive training and technical assistance to strengthen their organizational capacity and will work with other organizations to build the health reform advocacy field in Oregon.