A message from our leaders
Nearly two years ago, the world changed. As COVID-19 took hold of almost every aspect of our lives, we at the Institute for Health Policy knew that we needed to nimbly adapt to the new reality and lean into our core strengths of collaboration, connection, and amplification.
External events drove us to re-examine our work, from our publications, to collaborating with partners, to our live events. Pre-pandemic, our work focused on three broad areas: coverage and affordability, mental health and wellness, and drug pricing. As the pandemic and economic crisis unfolded, we adapted our work to account for changes caused by the pandemic, changes revealed by the pandemic, and policies aimed at managing and ending the pandemic.
The case studies included in this snapshot reveal how we made that shift to ensure our work was relevant, timely, and impactful. As you will read more about, we used our convening power to virtually bring together a select group of policy experts, including two who are now high-level federal officials, to shape the rapidly evolving conversation around health care access and affordability. We leveraged Kaiser Permanente’s leadership in delivering care remotely to impact discussions around telehealth delivery and payment. And, we shone a light on deep-seated, and often overlooked issues of structural racism in the development of effective therapeutics. Taken together these case studies reveal how the Institute for Health Policy contributed to Kaiser Permanete’s mission during an uncertain and challenging time.
As the Institute’s leaders, we are incredibly proud of our staff. Over the last two years they have impressed and inspired us with their creativity, thoughtfulness, and commitment to our mission and members. It is because of them that the last two years, though difficult, have been some of our most effective. The metrics at the bottom of this snapshot reveal this by showing how our staff expanded our reach and amplified Kaiser Permanente’s voice in public policy debates.
Looking forward, we are eager to build on the skills and strengths we have honed through the pandemic. Though the future is uncertain, we have no doubt that the Institute will meet the challenge by bringing forward Kaiser Permanent’s knowledge to advance the health of our members and communities.
Murray Ross, PhD
Vice President, Kaiser Permanente
Institute for Health Policy
and Government Relations
Cecilia Oregón, MPP, MPH
Executive Director, Kaiser Permanente
Institute for Health Policy
We met the moment by…
Connecting and Collaborating
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a national mental health crisis. People of all backgrounds and ages are facing unique stressors at work, at home, at school, and in their communities.
In response to this crisis, the Institute for Health Policy (IHP) created opportunities for dialogue, connection, and reflection through forums, partnerships, and a blog series focused on unpacking our country’s current mental health concerns.
Amplifying
Our Voice
At Kaiser Permanente, we recognize that current trends in drug pricing are threatening our ability to advance our mission of providing affordable, high-quality health care.
A complex web of entrenched policies has enabled manufacturers to maintain excessive pricing power. To stabilize and hopefully reverse trends toward ever-higher prices, the Institute for Health Policy has amplified Kaiser Permanente’s voice by advocating for change through written work, live events, and strategic partnerships.
Being Nimble
Health policy conversations evolve over time, and policymakers need current information to make good decisions. IHP’s 2021 work on telehealth highlights our focus on hosting forums and publishing materials that are timely and move important conversations forward.
By the numbers
13K
Event video views
7
Widely attended events
1.6K
Total day-of
event attendees
42K
Website visitors
38
Publications
1K
Twitter followers
1K
Newsletter subscribers
26
Kaiser Permanente grants or sponsorships supporting non-partisan health policy research and education