Grants will increase consumer engagement to protect and improve innovative health care programs, particularly for low-income people

The Center for Consumer in Engagement in Health Innovation at Community Catalyst (the Center) has announced the launch of a new subgrant program. The project, Consumer Voices for Innovation (CVI), will fund consumer health advocates in six states with the goal of raising consumer voices in favor of models of delivery system reform that are person-centered, consumer led and responsive to the needs of the community. All grantees will focus on organizing in low-income communities, communities of color, and/or among seniors and people with disabilities. The projects will focus on health care innovation in public programs, particularly Medicaid.

“The way health care is delivered is changing – fast. And the people who have the most at stake, the consumers, are often not at the table when important decisions about the care they receive are made,” said Ann Hwang, MD, director of the Center. “A high value program must reflect the values of the people it intends to serve and we believe that the best way to do that is to support advocates around the country who are working to systematically and emphatically build in the consumer voice.”

The grants, totaling nearly half a million dollars, will support yearlong projects that will reach more than 22,000 people across the six funded states, add 1,700 people to the grassroots base of consumers interested in health innovation issues and develop between 90 and 100 new consumer leaders on health innovation issues. The state advocates and their projects are:

  • Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative who will be working to build out the Faith Health Network which uses lay leaders to help support fellow congregants’ needs during hospitalizations and post-discharge;
  •  Make the Road New York who will be organizing grassroots participation in the One City Health Performing Provider System to be more responsive to community needs and to increase the role of community health workers;
  • Oregon State Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) who will be organizing grassroots participation in Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) in southern Oregon and looking to increase the influence of consumers and focus on addressing social determinants of health in the CCOs;
  • Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) who will be organizing consumers affected by the roll-out of managed long-term services and supports in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program, with a focus on mobilizing seniors; and
  • Rhode Island Organizing Project (RIOP) who will be working to engage dual eligibles in the Rhode Island duals demonstration by advocating for more person-centered approaches, working to increase consumer engagement in the demonstration and for transportation for low-income consumers.

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About the Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation


The Center for Consumer Engagement in Health Innovation at Community Catalyst is generously supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies and serves as a hub devoted to teaching, learning and sharing knowledge to bring the consumer experience to the forefront of health innovation in order to deliver better care, better value and better health for every community, particularly vulnerable and historically underserved populations. The Center’s work is supported through investments in state and local advocacy, leadership development, research and evaluation, and consultative services to delivery systems and health plans. Visit healthinnovation.org or follow them on Twitter @CCEHI to learn more and follow their work.

Contact: Jack Cardinal
Phone: (781) 960-5208