Our History and Impact

Since 1998, Community Catalyst has worked to build a consumer health advocacy movement from the ground up, working in 40 states to ensure consumers have an organized voice and a seat at the table where health decisions are made.

We have:

Built an influential consumer health advocacy movement across the country

  • Incubated consumer health advocacy organizations in Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Utah
  • Leveraged $30 million in philanthropic support to strengthen the capacity of consumer organizations to successfully advance  and implement health reforms
  • Created a robust learning community in support of consumer advocacy organizations in  40 states

Won consumer-friendly health care reforms at the state and federal level

  • Worked with advocates to pass and implement major health care reforms in Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and Vermont
  • Secured provisions in the Affordable Care Act that: make health insurance more affordable for consumers; create new, innovative models of care for older adults and people with disabilities; strengthen non-profit hospital community benefit obligations
  • Led a consumer campaign to require the pharmaceutical, device and biotech industries to be transparent about their financial relationships with medical providers, resulting in the passage of state laws and the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act
  • Ran a successful campaign to increase tobacco taxes in all New England states to support children’s health
  • Partnered with state advocates to pass laws in 30 states that ensure there are consumer protections in place when non-profit insurers or hospitals convert to for-profit status

Challenged powerful special interests

  • Partnered with advocates to stop for-profit conversions of BlueCross BlueShield in Kansas, Maryland and Ohio and protect consumers from rate increases and bad insurance practices 
  • Worked to protect charitable assets and channel billions in conversion assets into the creation of new state and local health foundations with an emphasis on addressing consumer needs
  • Led a successful campaign to curb the influence of pharmaceutical marketing on medical practice and strengthen conflict-of-interest policies at all academic medical centers
  • Secured more than $1 billion in settlements from pharmaceutical companies on behalf of consumers and third party payers

Spurred innovation

  • Incubated a cutting edge health plan that has become a national model for delivering high quality health care to people eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare
  • Spearheaded a unique funder collaboration that has provided $18 million in support of state advocacy organizations working to implement the Affordable Care Act

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