Medicare Advantage Lived Experience Advisory Group
Through this grant, the Center on Health Insurance Reform will create an advisory group, made up of older adults, to ensure that beneficiaries with lived experience in Medicare Advantage (MA) are informing policymakers on MA reform legislation and regulation.
Medicaid Outreach and Education
Sharing the stories of people with lived experience provides an opportunity to highlight what they need to live well at home and in community. USofCare, through this project, co-funded by the California Health Care Foundation, will work to educate policymakers on the compelling facts and arguments for how the Medicaid program impacts their constituents through elevating lived experience.
California Master Plan for Aging (MPA): Aging and Disability Lived Experience Advisory Board (AD-LEAB)
Policies are often designed without input from the people most affected. Supported by the MPA Fund, Mandala Change Group, in partnership with the California Department of Aging (CDA), developed the Aging and Disability Lived Experience Advisory Board (AD-LEAB) to center the experiences and expertise of underserved and underrepresented older adults, adults with disabilities, and caregivers to address gaps in systems, programs, and services that further exacerbate inequities. At the end of the project, CDA will advance MPA priorities informed by lived experience, along with a replicable model.
Town Hall Ventures invests in healthcare companies serving historically underserved communities, with a strong focus on improving care access and outcomes for older adults, Medicaid enrollees, and dual eligibles. Led by experienced healthcare leaders, including former CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt, the fund backs innovative models that blend clinical, behavioral, and social care. This investment supports our goals of advancing health equity and evolving care models for low-income older adults, with a focus on solutions that enable aging with dignity in home and community settings.
ResilienceVC Fund I invests in early-stage fintech companies that build financial resilience for low- and moderate-income (LMI) Americans. The fund focuses on embedded financial tools across healthcare, housing, and employment sectors critical to older adults’ economic security. Led by impact-first managers with a strong track record, the fund prioritizes companies that help vulnerable populations generate income, manage risk, and build assets. This investment supports our impact investing strategy by expanding financial solutions that enable older adults to live with dignity and stability in their communities.
The Urban Vision Fund I invests in affordable, mixed-use developments in underserved communities—prioritizing housing and services for people historically left behind. Led by Primestor, a community-driven, minority-owned developer, the fund combines real estate development with deep local engagement to ensure spaces reflect the people they serve. This investment supports our goal of helping older adults access affordable housing and care in their communities.
Community Outcomes Fund II uses outcomes-based financing to scale programs that improve health, education, and employment outcomes for underserved communities. By tying repayment to measurable results, this model incentivizes innovation and accountability. This investment helps extend this approach to programs serving older adults—supporting our impact investing goal of helping more people afford and access high-quality care in home and community settings.
JFFVentures Economic Mobility Fund I (JFFVentures EMF I) backs startups expanding access to quality education, job training, and employment tools for low-income adults. This investment ensures this work includes solutions for older adults striving to remain in or reenter the workforce—so they can afford the care and choices that support aging with dignity, at home or in the community.
Dandelion Health strengthens the safety and fairness of healthcare AI by testing algorithms for bias and accuracy across diverse populations. Their platform helps ensure that AI tools perform reliably for older adults, people with lower incomes, and those in rural areas—groups often underrepresented in health data. This investment supports Dandelion’s efforts to make algorithm validation a standard step in developing tools that impact care in the home and community.
Laying the Foundation for Data to Inform AI/ML Solutions for Marginalized Populations
In the absence of formal AI regulations, multi-stakeholder coalitions like CHAI are helping uphold and incentivize effective governance and oversight with AI, bridging for-profit, government, and healthcare. This project defines what is needed to develop representative datasets and best practices for applying AI equitably in healthcare for vulnerable populations, with a focus on older adults in underserved and marginalized communities.
