Below is an overview of CHCF’s grantmaking strategy, with broad three-year goals and specific
areas where we focus on making the biggest difference. Our commitment to advancing health equity
is a defining feature of our entire strategy and is embedded in all our work.
Goal 1. Improving Access to Coverage and Care
We work to broadly strengthen California’s health care safety net so all Californians — especially those who qualify for Medi-Cal — have access to the care they need when they need it.
Key Focus Areas:
- Affordable Coverage: Ensuring that all with low incomes have affordable health insurance coverage and that all who are eligible for Medi-Cal are enrolled.
- Medi-Cal Improvement: Driving improvement and ensuring accountability around access, quality, and equity in Medi-Cal.
- Health Workforce: Developing a health workforce that reflects the diversity of California. Streamlining education and training options to reduce the cost and time it takes to become a health care worker. And cultivating the next wave of clinical leaders through the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program.
- Primary Care: Ensuring that all Medi-Cal members have access to high- quality, linguistically and culturally responsive primary care. Focusing on specific improvement related to primary care payment and financing, equity in primary care, and transforming the way primary care is delivered.
- Black Health Equity: Improving care and outcomes for Black Californians by working with health care partners to interrupt racism, build transparency and accountability around equitable care, and diversify the health care workforce. Includes work to advance Black birth equity in California.
Goal 2. Advancing People-Centered Care
We work to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being, and reduces inequities.
Key Focus Areas:
- Behavioral Health: Transforming mental health and substance use treatment so wherever and however care is delivered, it is effective, appropriate, and accessible, thereby improving outcomes and reducing inequities. Includes work to improve detection and treatment of maternal mental health conditions.
- People with Complex Needs: Helping Medi-Cal enrollees with challenging health or social circumstances get high-quality medical care and supportive services that improve their lives. Particular focus on people experiencing homelessness and older adults with low incomes, and supporting implementation of CalAIM.
Goal 3. Laying the Foundation
We invest in people, knowledge, and networks that are necessary for making meaningful change possible in California’s health care system.
Key Focus Areas:
- Market Analysis and Insight: Providing facts and data so decisionmakers have a market-wide view of California’s complex health care ecosystem.
- High-Quality Health Journalism: Supporting health journalism so Californians have
access to timely, relevant information about the most pressing health care issues. - State Policy Leadership: Developing the leadership and skills of California’s health state policy sector.
- Technology and Innovation: Enabling safety-net organizations and entrepreneurs to
work together to bring needed innovation to the delivery system. Includes CHCF’s program-related investments aimed at innovation in Medi-Cal, promoting data exchange to support whole person care, and harnessing the power of AI to improve care and outcomes in the safety net.