With contributions from Katherine Beckmann.

At The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Health subprogram strives to protect and advance health insurance coverage in addition to access to quality health care and early nutrition services for young children and families. To achieve these goals, we invest in federal and state advocacy, research and policy analysis, litigation, and communications to raise the awareness of the importance of health care and nutrition in supporting children’s healthy development. We also support innovation and quality improvement initiatives to improve the way health systems deliver services and promote the health and well-being of children and families.

Built over a decade in partnership with local and national funders, our primary investment has been the Insuring America’s Children Initiative. Comprised of 21 states, this state to national advocacy network fights for coverage and access for children and families with a focus on Medicaid and CHIP. The network receives technical assistance in policy analysis, strategy, and communications from our partners at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and GMMB. We fund policy analysis and research that undergirds this advocacy as well as litigation to ensure that beneficiary rights in states are preserved. This network partners with national advocates as well as diverse messengers like military, business leaders, law enforcement, pediatricians, mothers, child care providers, teachers, and others.

This investment supports an infrastructure that is evergreen to meet the challenges and opportunities of the state and national policy environment, economic downturns, and public health emergencies. It has been responsive under COVID both in supporting implementation of flexibilities and benefits under the federal relief packages as well as fighting for additional areas of need for children and families.