National Institute for Health Care Management

What National Institute for Health Care Management does

The National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) is a U.S. nonprofit organization incorporated in 1993 in Washington, D.C. that seeks to improve health care through evidence-based research, journalism, and convening. The organization operates through two parallel entities: the NIHCM Foundation, a 501(c)-style grant-making and programming arm, and NIHCM LLC, a strategy group composed of health plan CEOs whose member organizations collectively generate nearly $400 billion in revenue and insure roughly 40% of commercially insured Americans.

NIHCM Foundation's core offerings include journalism grants (up to $500,000 annually), policy research grants (up to $500,000 annually), an awards program in health care journalism and policy research that has distributed over $1.2 million cumulatively, webinars, research briefs, data visualizations, and newsletters covering topics such as health care costs and quality, AI in health care, maternal and child health, behavioral health, chronic disease, and rural health. The Foundation is supported by donations and grants, produces free public resources, and convenes an Advisory Board drawn from leading academic institutions (Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins, UPenn, UW-Madison), public health leadership, and former government officials from both major U.S. political parties.

NIHCM's technology footprint is minimal: the organization runs a content-and-convening platform via nihcm.org, email distribution, and webinar tools rather than proprietary software. The organization has a small staff (1-10 employees) and is privately funded by charitable activities and member engagement, with no venture capital, private equity, or public ownership. In 2025, NIHCM underwent a leadership transition: Avik Roy departed as President and CEO in August 2025, Cait Ellis served as interim CEO, and Andrew Dreyfus was appointed as the new President and CEO in October 2025. The Advisory Board was expanded in May 2026 with Adam Boehler, Melinda Buntin, and Steve Parente.

Name

National Institute for Health Care Management

Legal name

NIHCM Foundation

Website

https://nihcm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NIHCM is a U.S. nonprofit foundation that improves health care through evidence-based research grants, journalism grants, an annual awards program, webinars, and convening of policymakers, journalists, researchers, and health plan CEOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Care Policy Research and Convening

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

akta.pro primary industry

Global Health Institutes & Programs (EDAHAGAM)

Keywords

• Health policy research
• Health care journalism grants
• Nonprofit health care convening
• Health care evidence publishing
• Health care leadership awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Operations and Grants: NIHCM Foundation operates as a nonprofit organization that funds its operations through grants and donations. The foundation provides up to $500,000 annually in journalism grants and $500,000 annually in policy research grants. NIHCM LLC, the affiliated strategy group, curates strategy sessions for health plan CEOs who have a combined revenue of nearly $400 billion.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NIHCM is a nonprofit organization that improves U.S. health care by producing evidence-based publications (data visualizations, briefs, policy insights, expert voices), convening health care leaders through its affiliated NIHCM LLC strategy group for health plan CEOs, and supporting health care journalism and research through grants and awards programs. It funds up to $500,000 annually in journalism grants and up to $500,000 annually in policy research grants, and runs the NIHCM Awards program recognizing excellence in health care journalism and policy research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Journalism Grants Program Annual grant program that funds health care reporting and journalism education projects for journalists covering health issues and their implications for cost, quality, and access.
• Policy Research Grants Program Annual grant program that funds investigator-initiated policy research producing new insights, data analysis, and evidence relevant to health plans, policymakers, health care delivery systems, and related stakeholders.
• NIHCM Awards in Health Care Journalism and Policy Research Annual awards competition recognizing excellence across five categories: Investigative and General Reporting, Local Media, Trade Journalism, Television and Audio Journalism, and Policy Research.
• NIHCM LLC CEO Strategy Group Convening and strategy program for health plan CEOs that curates strategy sessions and fosters collaboration among executives whose organizations collectively generate nearly $400 billion in revenue.
• Policy Insights Series Publication series providing original analyses on U.S. health care cost drivers and policy strategies to improve affordability, authored by leading health policy researchers.
• Health Care Data Visualizations and Infographics Infographics and data visualizations on U.S. health care statistics and trends across topics including chronic disease, rural health, costs, and quality.
• Health Care Webinar Series Live and recorded webinar programming featuring expert panels on current U.S. health care issues, available on the NIHCM website and YouTube.

Quantifiable outcome

• NIHCM Foundation gives $1 million annually to journalists and researchers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federal Government AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM Foundation maintains partnerships with federal agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other key federal agencies. Early projects were supported by CDC and other federal agencies, focusing on maternal and child health and expanding to broader health care evidence research.
• State and Local GovernmentscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM works with state and local governments as part of its broad network of partners built over 30 years. The organization engages government stakeholders through its programming and policy insights.
• Academic InstitutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM partners with leading academic institutions through its Advisory Board (including Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin-Madison) and through research grants to university researchers.
• Public Health OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM collaborates with public health leaders and advocacy organizations as part of its network. The organization works with groups focused on health care quality, access, and affordability issues.
• Health Insurance IndustrycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM LLC serves as a strategy group for health plan CEOs, with member CEOs representing organizations that collectively insure nearly 40% of commercially insured Americans and have combined revenue of nearly $400 billion.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Affiliated OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM collaborates with various Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliated organizations including Blue Cross NC, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Florida Blue Foundation, and others through grants, research partnerships, and programmatic collaboration.
• Health Care Delivery SystemsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIHCM engages health care delivery systems through its research grants and programming, working with organizations like Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and other major health systems.
• Media OrganizationsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNIHCM supports health care journalism through grants to journalists from top national and local media outlets. The organization has been featured in and collaborates with major media organizations including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Washington Post, ABC, and NBC News.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP): NASHP is a nonprofit that works across state policymakers on health care cost, quality, and access issues — highly comparable to NIHCM's policy research and convening orientation.
• AcademyHealth: AcademyHealth is a nonprofit professional society that convenes health services researchers and produces evidence — directly comparable to NIHCM's research grant and convening activities.
• Health Affairs: Health Affairs is a leading peer-reviewed health policy journal that also runs events and journalism engagement — comparable to NIHCM in shaping policy discourse and recognizing excellence.
• Commonwealth Fund: Commonwealth Fund is a private foundation focused on health care affordability, access, and quality research — closely aligned with NIHCM's policy research grants and convening role.
• Milbank Memorial Fund: Milbank is a foundation working on health policy and population health — directly comparable to NIHCM in operating model (small staff, research funding, convening) and US focus.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: RWJF is a major health-focused philanthropy funding research, policy analysis, and journalism — comparable to NIHCM in mission and grantmaking, though at much larger scale.
• Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF): KFF is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy organization that produces independent research, polling, and journalism support — directly comparable to NIHCM's evidence-and-collaboration mission and grantmaking model.

Broad incumbents

• AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans): AHIP is the national trade association for health insurance providers — overlapping with NIHCM LLC's CEO strategy group function but operating as a much broader industry lobbying and advocacy body.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large research institution producing health policy analysis — comparable in policy research output but at much greater scale and with government/defense work outside NIHCM's scope.

Emerging players

• Brookings Institution (Health Care Program): Brookings' health care program produces research and convenes policymakers on health policy — comparable in evidence-and-collaboration approach but as a unit within a broader think tank.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NIHCMfoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-institute-for-health-care-management-nihcm
• Facebookfacebook.com/NIHCMfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Institute for Health Care Management