The Role Foundations Play Addressing Health Care Gaps
In New York, approximately 940,000 residents lack health insurance entirely, while millions more with coverage face significant barriers to receiving comprehensive, compassionate care.[1]This is where health care foundations become vital, transforming philanthropic support into the programs and services that insurance simply will not cover.
Foundations in Health Care: Closing Critical Coverage Gaps
In an era when health care coverage is increasingly constrained by insurance limitations and federal funding reductions, not-for-profit foundations have emerged as essential to ensuring that vulnerable patients receive holistic, dignified care. Health care foundations serve a unique and urgent role: channeling donor generosity directly into impactful programs that address the profound gaps left by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance.
The reality facing New York families is stark. While the state has made significant progress in reducing the uninsured rate to approximately 4.8%, substantial disparities persist.[3] Hispanic and Latin New Yorkers face uninsured rates of 10%, American Indian populations 14%, and even among those with coverage, access to specialized care remains limited by high deductibles, copayments and narrow insurance benefit structures.[4]
Below are just a few of the critical functions some Foundations deploy to make a lasting impact on the cause they feel passionate about:
- Strategic Grant-Making for Uncovered Services: Foundations take a mission-driven approach to directing resources where insurance falls short. At MJHS Foundation, internal grants support programs such as trauma-informed care for Holocaust survivors, music and art therapy for patients with serious illness, and extended bereavement support beyond Medicare’s limits—ensuring resources are focused where the need is greatest.
- Capacity-Building for Specialized Care: Beyond direct program support, health care foundations play a vital role in building long-term capacity by investing in specialized education and training for the health care workforce. These investments strengthen how care teams respond to complex, emotionally charged, and ethically challenging situations—especially those not fully addressed by traditional insurance models.
- Advocating for the Care Patients and Providers Need: Foundations help elevate the voices of patients and care teams by engaging policymakers and system partners to advocate for policies, funding, and regulations that support compassionate, high-quality care, especially in areas where current coverage falls short.
The Urgent Need for Philanthropic Partnership
Understanding the role foundations play in addressing health care gaps offers a clearer picture of how compassionate care is sustained—not just through coverage, but through commitment, foresight, and investment in the whole person. In an increasingly complex health care landscape, foundations remain a vital force in advancing equity, dignity, and access to care for all.
References
[1] Health Care for All New York, “2025 New York Policy Agenda” (2025)
[2] Commonwealth Fund, “Medicare Mental Health Coverage: What’s Included, What Changed, and What Gaps Remain” (March 2023)
[3] Office of the New York City Comptroller, “Paying More, Getting Less: Rising Health Care Costs, Poor Outcomes, and Harmful Federal Policy Decisions Are Putting New Yorkers at Risk” (December 2025)
[4] Health Care for All New York, “2025 New York Policy Agenda.”
[5] New York State Department of Health, “Following Devastating Federal Funding Cuts, New York State Takes New Action to Preserve Health Care for As Many New Yorkers As Possible,” press release, September 10, 2025