A male paramedic performs a procedure on a man.
A male paramedic performs a procedure on a man.

HEALTH SYSTEMS

In collaboration with healthcare providers, payers, policymakers, and consumer groups, we are working to help ensure that everyone in America receives the right care at the right price and improve overall health outcomes nationwide. This requires a commitment to equity to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible.

Health Fair and Blood Pressure screening at the Cut Off center in Algiers, La. on July 1, 2011. The health fair, which included the giving out of information about LACHIP and medicaid eligibility, was held during the T.E.A.M. (Together Each Achieves More) Football and Cheerleading Camp put on by NFL player Robert Royal. Everyone is released.

A New Model for Managing Healthcare

Historically, healthcare providers in the United States bill patients and their insurers for each appointment, treatment, and procedure, for example. This is called a fee-for-service model. Evidence is growing, however, that rewarding the quantity, not the quality or efficiency of the medical care, is leading to poor health outcomes. Perhaps it’s time to change the model to healthcare reward quality and value. 

Poor health outcomes stemming from a fee-for-service model gave rise to a movement committed to advancing new healthcare management models for healthcare payment. For example, a new model would instead link providers’ reimbursements to the value—not the volume—of the services they provide.

Related News and Insights

Read expert perspectives and the latest research from RWJF to explore the opportunities and complexities of this topic.

Brief
Man completing a claim form.

Is It Time to Reform Medicaid and Medicare Supplemental Payments?

Changing how Medicare and Medicaid pay healthcare providers for supplemental services could help address inequities in the nation’s health system.

1-min read

Healthcare Coverage and Access
Brief
A mother and child in doctor's waiting room.

Marketplace Pulse: Crossing the Bridge to the Marketplace

The percent of Medicaid enrollees projected to lose coverage ranges across states from roughly 10% to 30% after the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ends.

5-min read

Healthcare Coverage and Access
Brief
Nurses use a computer to monitor patients.

Changes in Marketplace Premiums and Insurer Participation, 2022–2023

In 2023, monthly health insurance premiums for Affordable Care Act benchmark plans increased by an average 3.4 percent.

1-min read

Healthcare Coverage and Access Health Care Costs & Outcomes
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Featured Initiatives

RWJF funds many initiatives in support of our vision for a Culture of Health. For this focus area, these initiatives were selected to demonstrate grantmaking that is helping us achieve the greatest impact.  

Dr. Charles Moore talks with patient Walter Johnson, who he will examine later in the evening, in the lobby of the HEALing Community Center, which serves the population of Southwest Atlanta, Ga. and beyond. HEALing Community Center Atlanta

Community Solutions for Health Equity

A mobile medical unit helps community health needs.

Raising the Bar

An Asian woman with cancer is consulting her doctor. The two women are seated at a table together. The patient is wearing a bandana to hide her hair loss. The medical professional is showing the patient test results on a digital tablet. They are discussing a treatment plan.

National Center for Complex Health and Social Needs

Current Grant Opportunities

We realize that building a Culture of Health will take unprecedented collaboration and a deeper understanding of where barriers exist and how to overcome them.

We have previously funded opportunities in this area of focus with the goal to strengthen and advance health equity, and we have more work to do.

Evidence for Action: Innovative Research to Advance Racial Equity

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Open

Apply Now

Pioneering Ideas: Exploring the Future to Build a Culture of Health

APPLICATION DEADLINE

Open

Apply Now