The Center for Health Care Strategies is a left-of-center organization which advocates for left-wing cultural ideologies in the healthcare field. The organization was founded in 1995 through a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 1 It has expressed the view racism in America is a public health crisis and should be treated as if it is a “disease.” 2 It also has argued the U.S. government should use Medicaid funding to pay for transgender surgeries. 3
The president and CEO of the Center for Health Care Strategies is Allison Hamblin, and its chair of the Board of Trustees is Estelle Richman. 4 The organization receives funding from several major left-of-center foundations, and it also received a grant from MacKenzie Scott. 15
Advocacy
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
The Center for Health Care Strategies states that it works to build “a diverse workforce that brings distinct perspectives, cultures, races, ethnicities, gender and sexual identities, experiences, and abilities to the table.” 6 The organization has claimed that racism is rampant in the healthcare system, having stated: “For racially and ethnically diverse communities, we are keenly aware of pervasive inequities in health access, quality, and outcomes resulting from a long history of interpersonal and structural racism both within and beyond the health care sector.” 6
Racism as a Public Health Crisis
The Center for Health Care Strategies published an article claiming “racism has been declared a public health crisis,” and the organization argued that health care providers should “confront the disease of racism in pediatric care, which has for too long harmed children and families of color.” 2 In another paper, the Center said, “If pediatric health care were consistently anti-racist, strengths-based, and delivered in partnership with families and communities, more children would have access to the relationships, resources, and care they need to thrive.” 7
Transgender Issues
The Center for Health Care Strategies supports government-funded surgeries for transgender individuals. In a paper discussing Medicaid funding, the organization said, “States can ensure appropriate services are made available to transgender and gender non-conforming people by explicitly covering gender-affirming care in Medicaid, which is already done in 20 Medicaid programs.” 3
In addition, the organization used the term “birthing people” in a paper on maternal mortality. 8
People
The president and CEO of the Center for Health Care Strategies is Allison Hamblin, and the chair of the organization’s board of trustees is Estelle Richman, a former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. 4 The organization has 77 employees listed on its website. 9
Funding
The Center for Health Care Strategies is a 501(c)(3) organization based in Hamilton, New Jersey. In the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the organization had $6,425,175 in revenue and $5,104,029 in expenses. 10 In 2022, the organization received a grant from MacKenzie Scott as part of Scott’s distribution of nearly $4 billion to 465 nonprofits. 5
PREPARING FOR APM 2.0: AN IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE FOR CALIFORNIAS HEALTH CENTERS; DISSEMINATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT METHODOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKIT; INCORPORATING COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS IN MEDICAID INITIATIVES THAT ADDRESS HEALTH-RELATED SOCIAL NEEDS: EARLY STATE APPROACHES; ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN: IMPLICATIONS OF USING COST/UTILIZATION TO IDENTIFY POPULATIONS OF FOCUS; DESIGN OF A LEARNING COLLABORATIVE FOR MEDI-CAL PLANS ON MEMBER ADVISORY COMMITTEES; INSTITUTIONAL LONG-TERM CARE CARVE-IN EARLY IMPLEMENTATION: MEDI-CAL MANAGED CARE PLAN LEARNING COLLABORATIVE; LEARNING FROM THE EVIDENCE TO INFORM CALAIM IMPLEMENTATION IMPACTING SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES; EARLY IMPLEMENTATION OF ECM AND CS FOR ADULTS WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CONDITIONS; HEALTH AND RE-ENTRY 101 BRIEF FOR HEALTH CARE STAKEHOLDERS; SUPPORTING RECUPERATIVE CARE IN RURAL AREAS; EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES AND APPETITE TO ADDRESS DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGE AND NEEDS; MEDI-CAL ENROLLEE ADVISORY COMM
$1,002,514
2025
The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
CGM MEDICAID ACCESS ACCELERATOR – TARGETED RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES WHO USE INSULIN
PARTNERSHIPS FOR ACTION: CALIFORNIA HEALTH CARE & HOMELESSNESS LEARNING COMMUNITY; CALAIM POLICY AND IMPLEMENTATION SYNTHESIS AND ADVISORY BOARD; DISSEMINATION OF THE ALTERNATIVE PAYMENT METHODOLOGY IMPLEMENTATION TOOLKIT; SUPPORTING RECUPERATIVE CARE IN RURAL AREAS; DESIGN OF A LEARNING COLLABORATIVE FOR MEDI-CAL PLANS ON MEMBER ADVISORY COMMITTEES; EXPLORING OPPORTUNITIES AND APPETITE TO ADDRESS DIRECT CARE WORKFORCE SHORTAGE AND NEEDS; COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER/PROMOTOR/REPRESENTATIVE RESOURCE CENTER REVISION PLANNING; CALAIM/PEOPLE-CENTERED CARE POLICY TRACKING PHASE III; IMPROVING MEMBER ADVISORY GROUPS: A SUMMIT AND TOOLS FOR MEDI-CAL MANAGED CARE PLANS; CALIFORNIA ASSISTED LIVING VIRTUAL LEARNING SERIES
$653,574
2023
The Leona M and Harry B Helmsley Charitable Trust
TARGETED RESOURCES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE CARE FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DIABETES WHO USE INSULIN
$498,313
2022
The SCAN Foundation
THIS PROJECT SUPPORTED THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A LEARNING COLLABORATIVE TO HELP STATES DEVELOP A MASTER PLAN FOR AGING.
COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS AND PROMOTORAS IN THE FUTURE OF MEDI-CAL; COVID-19 RAPID RESPONSE RESOURCE SERIES AND LEARNING COMMUNITY FOR PROVIDERS OF HOMELESS PEOPLE; MEDICAID BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION MODELS IN OTHER STATES; UNDERSTANDING NEEDS RELATED TO LONG-TERM CARE SERVICES IN MEDI-CAL; PLANNING GRANT TO SUPPORT HOMELESS PROVIDERS DURING COVID-19 OUTBREAK; ADMINISTRATIVE, OPERATIONAL AND FINANCIAL INTEGRATION PROJECTS IN THE CONTEXT OF CALAIM
TO SUPPORT STATES TO ADVANCE INTEGRATION BETWEEN MEDICARE AND MEDICAID, AS WELL AS CONDUCTING POLICY ANALYSES IN SUPPORT OF FUTURE INTEGRATION EFFORTS.
Planned activities include a multipronged communications strategy to spread the actionable strategies documented in the PCI toolkit to Medicaid officials in all states. Project staff will also offer technical assistance to officials in four states to help them leverage Medicaid managed care to promote equity in health care. Approaches taken and lessons learned will be incorporated into the PCI toolkit.
In collaboration with Fund staff, CHCS will select a second cohort of five to seven new states by inviting all Medicaid directors from states with risk-based managed care to apply. Planned activities include: 1) a learning collaborative in which CHCS will facilitate peer-to-peer information-sharing; 2) one-on-one technical assistance, including help with developing a work plan, monthly calls, and site visits; 3) national dissemination through publications, webinars, and conference presentations; and 4) assistance for other states that have questions about the resources and strategies identified through the learning collaborative.
TO SUPPORT STATES TRANSITIONING FROM AN INTEGRATED DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM TO A PERMANENT INTEGRATED MODEL.
$321,574
2023
Gary and Mary West Health Policy Center Inc
SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEARNING COLLABORATIVE (DEVELOP CURRICULUM AND RELATED ISSUE BRIEF, RECRUIT STATES) TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF MASTER PLANS FOR AGING IN OTHER STATES.
CONDUCT A LEARNING COLLABORATIVE COHORT (UP TO 6 STATES TO SUPPORT MASTER PLANS FOR AGING). SUPPORT FOR MPA NATIONAL DASHBOARD, INCLUDING CONVENING OF STATE TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP AND ONGOING DISSEMINATION.
TO SUPPORT STATES IN DESIGNING AND LAUNCHING POPULATION-BASED PAYMENT MODELS FOR PRIMARY CARE IN MEDICAID, WITH THE OVERALL GOAL OF DELIVERY OF COMPREHENSIVE, HIGH-QUALITY PRIMARY CARE.
Helping States Support Family Caregivers Caring for an Aging America, Phase II
$255,651
2022
The SCAN Foundation
SUPPORTS THE CALIFORNIA OFFICE OF MEDICARE INNOVATION AND INTEGRATION (OMII) TO BUILD MEDICARE CAPACITY AND IDENTIFY, DEVELOP AND ADVANCE KEY POLICY AND PROGRAM PRIORITIES BASED ON CALIFORNIA MEDICARE POPULATION, PROGRAM, AND POLICY ANALYSIS.
CHCS will seek to extend the reach of the Playbook among health system leaders, payers, and providers. Their activities will be informed by surveys and focus groups with these end users. Across the two-year period, CHCS will: 1) draw upon its subject matter expertise to boost the relevance of content; 2) work closely with Beaconfire RED, the site developer, to enhance the site’s usability; and 3) analyze past trends to expand the user audience. CHCS will identify a set of measures to evaluate site performance on a monthly basis and engage members of the advisory group to identify new content and other enhancements.
This project will support a learning collaborative to advance states' adoption of population-based payments (PBPs) that enable high-quality, equitable primary care. The team will: 1) plan the learning collaborative and select five states with geographic and political diversity, as well as varying levels of experience with designing and implementing value-based payment; 2) provide individualized technical assistance to participating states; 3) foster state-to-state connections and conversations; and 4) disseminate insights to help states that are not participating in the learning collaborative to design and implement PBPs.
All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:
Total Grant Value:$177,595
Number of Grants:8
Number of Recipients:8
Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:
Amount
Year
Funder
Subject
$61,952
2025
Commonwealth Center for Commercialization Inc
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$20,651
2025
Health & Human Services, Michigan Department Of
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$20,651
2025
Maine Department of Health & Human Services
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$18,586
2025
Alaska Children's Trust
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$18,586
2025
AllThrive 365
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$18,585
2025
Ridge Foundation Inc
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$9,293
2025
La Casa De Salud
SUPPORTS PROGRAMMATIC ACTIVITIES
$9,291
2025
Virginia Association of Free and Charitable Clinics
3. Smithey, Anne, Shilpa Patel, and Tricia McGinnis. “Developing a Payment and Spending Strategy to Advance Health Equity: Checklist for Medicaid Decision-Makers.” Center for Health Care Strategies. 3. https://www.chcs.org/media/AHE-Payment-and-Spending-Brief-FINAL.pdf.
