Through this inaugural Request for Proposals (RFP), New York Health Foundation invites project proposals focused on two of their core program strategies to expand primary care access and advance racial health equity through primary care.
Donor Name: New York Health Foundation
State: New York
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/13/2023
Size of the Grant: 24 months
Details:
High-quality primary care provides ongoing, relationship-based care that meets the health needs and preferences of individuals, families, and communities, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Primary care is a rare “win-win” in health care that improves individual and community health, enhances health equity, and saves money. Despite the return on investment, they underinvest in primary care, and too many New Yorkers—especially New Yorkers of color—have difficulty getting care when and where they need it.
Through this RFP, they expect to fund projects across New York State that have regional or statewide impact, disseminate best practices, test replicable models, and contribute to policy and systems change. To be competitive, a project limited to a specific health system or facility must clearly articulate how this project will lay the groundwork for efforts to be scaled across health systems, regions, or the State.
Efforts to expand access to primary care must involve both policy changes and practice innovations. In terms of policy change, one of the most effective levers to expand access is to rebalance health care spending to direct more resources into primary care. At the practice level, new models of care can provide patients with more entry points into the primary care system and enable primary care teams to expand their reach and practice more efficiently. Expanding access to primary care is inextricably linked to advancing racial health equity, as shortage areas in New York State are often communities of color. Additionally, improving racial health equity through primary care is not only about increasing access to care, but also about improving the quality and experience of care for patients of color. To narrow persistent racial disparities, efforts must address bias, structural racism, mistrust, and gaps in communication between patients and providers. Furthermore, high-quality primary care can address patients’ health issues and social needs that, when left unaddressed, contribute to health inequities. Rather than two siloed strategies, efforts to expand access and advance racial health equity are synergistic. Projects may fall into one or both strategy areas. Examples of projects that align with NYHealth’s approach include, but are not limited to, the following.
Expanding primary care access:
- Creating policy and regulatory changes that direct a greater share of total health care spending to primary care;
- Implementing and testing payer- or purchaser-led initiatives that create incentives for high-quality primary care delivery;
- Piloting new models of integrated primary care and specialty care to inform evolving New York State regulations;
- Spreading telehealth and other digital tools for disease management equitably among marginalized populations; and
- Testing and scaling care delivery models in non-clinical, community-based settings.
Advancing racial health equity through primary care:
- Elevating patients and communities of color in health system oversight and practice redesign to have meaningful and measurable impact;
- Developing and testing racial equity-focused quality metrics or payment incentives;
- Conducting practice improvement initiatives to improve patient experience and quality of care for marginalized patient populations; and
- Providing technical assistance to providers to screen and refer for health-related social needs under new Medicaid value-based care models.
Grant Period
Projects cannot exceed 24 months in duration.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Organizations: To build the capacity of New York State-based organizations to advance the field, all applicants are required to be New York State-based. Applicants may partner or subcontract with a non-New York State-based organization if it offers resources and expertise beneficial to the project.
- Nonprofits, government agencies, for-profit organizations, and academic organizations are eligible to apply. Examples of organizations include, but are not limited to, health care systems and providers, independent practice associations, professional member organizations, communitybased organizations, patient advocacy organizations, policy organizations, and academic or research organizations. Past and current NYHealth grantees and new organizations are welcome to apply. Individuals are not eligible to apply.
Selection Criteria
These include, but are not limited to, the extent to which projects:
- have regional or statewide impact or lay the groundwork for scaling or replication;
- disseminate best practices or otherwise inform the field of primary care;
- contribute to policy and systems change; and
- have a plan to sustain the work after grant funding ends (e.g., leverage federal, State, or payer resources).
For more information, visit NYHealth.
