Report Examines Strategies for Partnerships Between States, Health Foundations

The current issue of the journal Health Affairs includes a special report on strategies for partnerships between states and private health foundations, based on a November 2003 roundtable discussion that focused on experiences of foundations in California. According to the report, "there are important potential benefits for both philanthropy and state government if the two can work together to develop policies and programs that improve health," in part because of state budget constraints. In addition, health foundations in recent years have moved beyond traditional health policy work through research and advocacy to collaborate with states to "facilitate policy implementation and evaluation," the report said. For example, the California Wellness Foundation, the California Endowment and the California HealthCare Foundation have supported efforts to expand access to health insurance for children though a partnership with the state on the development and implementation of a new enrollment application for Healthy Families and participation in administrative advocacy and oversight of program implementation. The report concluded that in addition to partnerships with states, health foundations also could work with for-profit employers on projects to improve health coverage and outcomes. The roundtable, hosted by the University of Southern California, received funds from the California Endowment and the James Irvine Foundation (Ferris/Melnick, Health Affairs, May/June 2004). An abstract of the report is available online.