Health centers across the United States face impending Medicaid cuts, workforce shortages, and resource gaps, yet eight clinics converged at Direct Relief headquarters earlier this month to pitch community healthcare innovations. Supported by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and Direct Relief, the pitch event highlighted creative solutions for community health funding challenges.
Direct Relief and NACHC Host Third Innovation Incubator
More than 78 applications from 30 states culminated in eight health centers pitching their ideas Y Combinator style to a panel of judges and peers for seed money. AccessHealth of Richmond, Texas, and Family Health Center of Worcester, Massachusetts, each received $10,000 awards. AccessHealth took the judges’ pick, while Family Health Center of Worcester won the audience favorite vote.
Also presenting at the event were organizations such as HealthLinc of South Bend, Indiana; Community Health Services, Inc. of Rochester, Minnesota; Hope Family Care Center of Kansas City, Missouri; MCR Health of Bradenton, Florida; OneWorld Community Health Centers of Omaha, Nebraska; and Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center of Waianae, Hawaiʻi. Talks during the event spanned topics such as easing staff burden and building critical partnerships.
“When you’re long on ideas and short on resources, the bridge is innovation,” said Sean Roddy, NACHC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Growth and Financial Officer. Roddy noted that the incubator was NACHC’s third, and the shared models could be scaled to help other clinics solve local problems.
Medicaid Cuts Threaten Insurance Coverage for Millions
Direct Relief CEO Amy Weaver welcomed the health centers and reflected on her organization’s history of supporting U.S. healthcare safety nets, which began with shipping $30 million in medicines and cash support following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the years following, the group has distributed upward of $3 billion worth of pharmaceuticals mostly directed toward free, charitable, and federally qualified health clinics.
Weaver described upcoming Medicaid cuts expected to drop many people from health insurance as “a slow tsunami we can see coming.” Roddy added that anywhere between four and 10 million people are expected to lose coverage. A 2025 analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that this coverage loss could lead to more than 1,400 excess deaths yearly and more than 94,000 preventable hospitalizations.
“This loss of coverage is real,” Roddy said. “Health centers still have to see those patients, regardless of ability to pay.”
AccessHealth Pitches Small Business Primary Care Coverage
AccessHealth serves 19,000 patients annually in a Houston suburb and pitched an expansion of health coverage for local small businesses with 30 employees or fewer. Because these employers are not required to provide health insurance, the proposed model allows small businesses to pay the health center directly for basic primary care, filling a coverage gap for workers who cannot afford marketplace insurance.
“We were hearing from the heart of the community,” said Hannah Gentry, Grants Manager at AccessHealth. Gloria Diaz, Patient Access Programs Supervisor for the clinic, added that the ultimate goal is to replicate successful models across other health centers.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Innovation Gathering
How many health centers applied to the NACHC Innovation Gathering?
More than 78 health centers from 30 states submitted applications, leading to the selection of eight finalist organizations that pitched their programs at Direct Relief headquarters.
How much funding did the winning health centers receive?
AccessHealth and the Family Health Center of Worcester each received $10,000 awards after being selected as a judge’s pick and an audience favorite, respectively.
How many patients do community health centers serve annually?
Health centers provide medical services to more than 52 million patients each year across the United States, with one in seven Americans and 1 in 3 patients living in rural areas relying on their care.
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