Summary
CHCF seeks a grantee to collaborate with CHCF state health policy staff to track and analyze federal policy developments related to CHCF’s top health priorities, and to create and disseminate strategic, timely, actionable federal health policy updates to CHCF staff, California state staff, and key partners, as identified by CHCF.
Background
The California Health Care Foundation is an independent, nonprofit philanthropy that works to improve the health care system so that all Californians have the care they need. We focus especially on making sure the system works for Californians with low incomes and for communities who have traditionally faced the greatest barriers to care. We partner with leaders across the health care safety net to ensure they have the data and resources to make care more just and to drive improvement in a complex system.
CHCF’s grantmaking strategy has 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.
CHCF’s State Health Policy Office (SHPO) is based in Sacramento and serves as a strategic partner across the Foundation. SHPO works closely and collaboratively to provide strategic guidance necessary to achieve CHCF’s stated goals (above). SHPO also provides Sacramento policymakers and stakeholders with valuable resources—serving as a link to experts and resources based in the Foundation’s Oakland headquarters. The policy issues SHPO seeks a consultant to track and analyze align with and inform progress and impact in moving closer to the Foundation’s overall goals and strategies.
Project Scope
CHCF uses policy as a strategic tool to drive improvements in access to care, care delivery, and addressing health disparities, particularly for Californians with low incomes. It is critical that CHCF have up to date awareness and guidance on federal public policy information. It informs much of our strategy, policy, grantmaking, and communications work. The CHCF State Health Policy Office seeks to execute an annual grant to a consultant to work closely with policy staff to carry out the activities listed below.
Federal Policy Monitoring and Analysis
- Track and synthesize federal legislative, regulatory, and administrative actions across a wide range of health policy topics, with a focus on Medicaid.
- Provide real-time updates, strategic insights, and respond to questions from CHCF staff and stakeholders on emerging federal policy trends and their potential impact on California throughout the year.
- Produce weekly federal health policy updates on CHCF-identified policy priority areas to CHCF staff, state government staff, and key stakeholders.
- Translate federal developments into implications for California’s policy environment.
- Monitoring and analysis activities are ongoing throughout the year.
Consultation and Strategic Support
- Serve as a thought partner to CHCF staff, including:
- Strategic policy calls, quarterly and as needed, to keep CHCF staff abreast of relevant developments in the federal policy arena, highlight opportunities for impact, and /or strategize about how to leverage what is occurring in the federal policy arena to maximize CHCF’s impact;
- Conduct up to two webinars for CHCF staff annually.
- Write 2 articles/blogs for CHCF annually.
- Participate in internal CHCF learning sessions and strategy discussions as needed.
Qualifications We Are Looking For
CHCF is looking for firms with the following experience and capabilities:
- Demonstrated expertise in federal budget, Congressional and regulatory policy, especially Medicaid, health insurance, behavioral health, health care workforce, health equity, maternal health, older adults, technology, and the safety net delivery system, including public hospitals, federally qualified health centers, public housing, etc.
- Capacity to provide real-time, high-quality written updates on a variety of CHCF prioritized issues;
- Experience working with foundations, nonprofits, or public-sector clients; and,
- Familiarity with California’s health policy and Medi-Cal landscape is preferred.
Process and Timeline
CHCF has issued this request for information (RFI) to identify potential partners for the project described above. If you believe that you meet the qualifications, we want to hear from you! We are inviting firms to respond to this RFI by answering the questionnaire below.
We plan to schedule conversations with and may request additional written material and references from consultant(s)/organizations who appear to be a good fit. From these conversations, we hope to identify a grantee for this federal policy tracking work.
Proposed Timeline
| Release of RFI | July 24, 2025 |
| RFI submission due | August 20, 2025 |
| Follow-up conversations | Late August – Early September 2025 |
| Invitations for Full Proposal/Scope of Work | Mid-September 2025 |
| Award Grant | October 15, 2025 |
Submission Guidelines
Please your responses to the following questions in the form below by 5pm on Wednesday, August 20, 2025.
General Information
- Organization or name
- Contact information
- Name and one-paragraph biography of proposed lead consultant(s)
Prompts
- Describe your experience and approach to tracking and analyzing federal health policy developments, particularly in Medicaid. How do you ensure timely and strategic insights? If your team has experience in California-specific health policy, please describe. Please include examples of your work.
- Describe your experience serving as a thought partner to philanthropic or public-sector clients. How do you support ad hoc requests such as strategic briefings or webinars, deeper dives into specific policy issues areas, or providing political analysis on timely issues?
- Why do you think your organization is uniquely positioned to do this project well? Describe how your team ensures capacity for real-time monitoring and strategic partnership.
- Is there any other relevant information you think is important to share (briefly) about your organization, capabilities, or team as it relates to the project?
RFI Response Page-Limits
Please submit your prompt responses in ONE of the following formats. General Information and examples of past work not included in these limits.
- No more than 5 pages of a Word document; or,
- No more than 10 slides in a slide deck
Budget
CHCF is looking to spend no more than $75,000 annually on this grant.
RFI Submission
If you have questions about this RFI, please contact Danny Sandoval.