Below are brief summaries of Grant Results Reports available on past grantmaking in this field of interest. In some cases, the grants were made before the team decided on its current strategic objective. Findings and lessons from the grants described have nonetheless informed RWJF’s grantmaking. Visit the Foundation’s Web site www.rwjf.org for more Grant Results Reports.

HMOs Surpass Traditional Insurance in Eliminating Some Disparities
Health policy-makers aim to reduce differences in health status due to education, income and racial/ethnic background. According to a 2000 study at the University of Rochester, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) provide more equitable access to care than traditional indemnity insurance plans—at least for people of differing educational levels. The findings challenge previous research and conventional wisdom, which held that HMOs restrict access to care. The study found that use of health care was similar among HMO enrollees regardless of educational attainment. By contrast, the use of health care differed significantly among those with indemnity insurance depending upon the patients’ educational level: those with less than a high school education were half as likely to have seen a specialist for their last physician visit as college graduates. The study found no differences in the use of health care between HMO and indemnity plans based on disparities in income or racial/ethnic backgrounds. RWJF supported the project under its national program, Changes in Health Care Financing and Organization, with a $103,342 grant. See the Grant Results Report at www.rwjf.org/reports/grr/038088.htm.

Web Site Offers Guide on Effective Approaches to Cut Health Disparities
In 1999, under its Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded grants to conduct demonstration projects to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in: breast and cervical cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV-related disease, immunization and infant mortality. To assist communities in their work, in 1999–2000, RAND® collected and synthesized information on effective community interventions that addressed racial and ethnic disparities in those six areas. RAND created a Web site www.rand.org/organization/health/reach to disseminate the findings. The site summarizes the conclusions from the studies reviewed, provides a searchable database of studies, includes summaries of the manuscripts examined and provides CDC contact information. RWJF provided $492,897 in funding to RAND for the project. See the Grant Results Report at www.rwjf.org/reports/grr/037009.htm.

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