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July 22, 2024

The Cigna Group Foundation launches $9M Health Equity Impact Fund; Hartford, Houston 1st to benefit

PHOTO | COSTAR Cigna headquarters in Bloomfield.

The Cigna Group Foundation said Monday it is committing $9 million over three years to create a Health Equity Impact Fund that will work to reduce health equity barriers by targeting disparities “most prevalent in local communities.”

The foundation said the fund will provide $3 million a year over three years to focus on specific places where health disparities are significant and work to “support, convene, and collaborate with nonprofit organizations serving local community members to address root causes of health inequities.”

The fund will operate on a “hyper-local level” in select cities that are within The Cigna Group’s priority states, starting with Hartford and Houston, the foundation said.

A foundation spokeswoman added that nonprofits in Hartford and Houston can request grants between $100,000 and $250,000 “for a duration of 12 or 24 months.”

Hartford has some of the widest gaps in racial and ethnic health disparities in the nation, the foundation said, citing a 2023 DataHaven report that found Black and Hispanic Hartford-area residents are more likely to forgo health care than non-Hispanic white residents.

It also cited a January 2020 Connecticut Health Foundation report that found Black and Hispanic state residents were also far more likely to suffer the severe consequences of conditions that include asthma and diabetes, and Black state residents die at a faster rate than white residents.

Melissa Skottegaard, chair of The Cigna Group Foundation board, said 80% of a person’s health is affected by things outside of the doctor’s office and that the fund is dedicated to ensuring the underserved in Hartford “have access to the things they need to be healthy. We look forward to partnering with nonprofit organizations to improve the vitality and well-being of local communities.”

To close the gaps in health equity, the fund said, it used a data-led approach to identify the following funding program goals in Hartford to support Black and Hispanic adults (those 18 years old and older):

Expand the availability of providers and related community-based resources that reflect culturally appropriate care models, and
Increase access to transportation to attend health visits and healthy physical activities.

The Cigna Group Foundation’s Health Equity Impact Fund follows Cigna’s announcement in April of a multiyear philanthropic and community engagement initiative that has committed $27 million in grants over the next three years to nonprofit organizations focused on improving youth mental health, veteran mental health through housing stability, and reducing barriers to health equity.

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