A CHW-led coalition of 100+ organizations, including 27 state CHW associations and networks, joins forces to build CHW power and move state and federal policy
Today we officially launch the National Community Health Worker Policy Coalition with more than 100 member organizations. We are community health workers (CHWs) and the allies who stand with us, united to advance professional recognition and sustainable financing for CHWs. We are CHW-led by design. Inaugural members include 27 state CHW associations and networks from across the country, alongside community-based organizations, CHW employers, and national policy and advocacy allies. Together, we build power and move policy at the state and federal levels toward a future where every community across the U.S. is healthier because of CHWs, and CHWs have the recognition, fair compensation and power to shape the systems they work in.
Who community health workers are
Community health workers are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the communities they serve. They go by many titles, including promotoras de salud, community health representatives, patient navigators and outreach workers. CHWs help people get and keep health coverage, find their way through the health system, manage chronic conditions, and connect to the food, housing and other supports that shape health. Decades of research show that CHWs improve maternal and child health, expand access to care in rural communities, and help people manage conditions like asthma, hypertension and diabetes, all while lowering costs. Just as important is what no balance sheet captures: CHWs build trust where it has been broken, and help communities advocate for the health and resources they deserve.
Why now
For generations, CHWs have organized to build their profession: defining their own roles and core competencies, founding professional associations, and winning recognition in state and federal policy. Today that work meets a pivotal moment. Medicaid and public health face deep cuts, and new eligibility rules will put coverage at risk for millions of people, just when families most need CHWs to help them keep coverage and stay connected to care. At the same time, the Rural Health Transformation Program is bringing major new investment to every state, and 43 of 50 states have included CHWs in their plans. That’s a real opening to build CHWs into the future of rural care and invest in training and career pathways for the workforce.
Decisions about how CHWs are defined, trained, paid and deployed are being made right now, in state Medicaid offices, rural health plans and Congress, too often without CHW leaders at the table. Most CHW jobs still depend on short-term grants, and progress across states is uneven. CHWs know their communities and their profession best, and they should be the ones shaping these decisions. That takes organized power: CHW leaders connected across states, speaking with one voice and building lasting relationships with policymakers. That’s why we’re here.
What we do
Federal advocacy and policymaker education: We coordinate national campaigns to educate Congress and build bipartisan support. This summer, for example, we worked with congressional champions to reintroduce the Community Health Worker Access Act, which would build sustainable Medicare and Medicaid financing for CHW services, and to grow bipartisan support for the National CHW Awareness Week Resolution. We also engaged members in advocating for federal appropriations for CHW grant programs at CDC.
State policy and cross-state learning: With state CHW leaders, we are mapping each state’s CHW policy and financing landscape, along with its advocacy infrastructure, with initial findings expected in early 2027. We will use the mapping to identify where states’ opportunities and barriers align and build cross-state advocacy spaces that bring the right states together around the right strategies.
CHW organizing and power-building: We build CHW leadership and collective power, so CHWs shape the policies that shape their profession, for example through monthly national meetings and support for meeting with lawmakers in DC and at home. CHWs hold the majority on our Steering Committee, and a CHW Advisory Committee keeps frontline voices at the center of our strategy.
What our members and partners are saying
“As CHWs, we know our communities better than anyone, and we are ready to lead. This Coalition is how CHWs come together across states to shape the policies that shape our profession, and to make sure every community can count on us.”
— Honey Yang Estrada, President, North Carolina CHW Association; Co-Chair, National CHW Policy Coalition
“In Tennessee, Community Health Workers are already helping individuals and families navigate health care, connect to resources, and address the challenges that affect their daily lives. As Tennessee moves forward with the rural health funds and navigates changes in Medicaid, it is important that CHWs continue to have a voice in shaping these efforts and that their role is recognized as part of the solution. Through this Coalition, we are learning from and strategizing with CHW leaders in other states as we work to strengthen the profession and support better outcomes for our communities.”
— Nikayla Boyd, Executive Director, Tennessee Community Health Worker Association
“In Oregon, CHWs are often the first call when someone needs support navigating healthcare or accessing other essential services. As we weather significant reduction in resources and new Medicaid requirements, it is essential CHWs are at the table with policymakers to ensure as many people as possible retain coverage and access to the services they need. Through this Coalition, CHWs across the country are building collective power to make sure that happens; collaborating strategically, so that when one state wins, we all get stronger.”
— Jennine Smart, Executive Director, Oregon Community Health Workers Association
“NACHW is the national professional home for CHWs, and this Coalition adds dedicated policy and advocacy capacity alongside it. When CHWs, state associations and allies speak with one voice, policymakers listen. NACHW is proud to be a founding member.”
— Neena Schultz, Director of Programs & Impact, National Association of Community Health Workers (NACHW)
“Community Health Workers are the linchpin of a better-connected health system, bridging the gap between health care, public health, and the communities they serve. We are proud to stand with the National CHW Policy Coalition, which represents an important step toward ensuring these essential workers have the professional recognition, fair compensation, and sustainable financing they deserve.”
— Dave Chokshi, Chair, Common Health Coalition
“Community health workers play a key role in linking communities to whole person health care and supports. The notable uptick in state investments in the workforce over the past several years speaks to the unique value CHWs bring to health care. Shaped by deep expertise in the communities they serve, they not only reach people, they educate us in how to refine and improve health and social service systems.”
— Sandra Wilkniss, Senior Director, National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)
“Lasting health gains are achieved when policy reflects community reality—and no one knows that reality better than Community Health Workers. Through the National CHW Policy Coalition, CHW-CRE is dedicated to advancing CHW-driven policies that dismantle systemic barriers and ensure CHWs hold the power to shape the future of health.”
— Victoria Adewumi, Co-Executive Director, Community Health Worker Center for Research and Evaluation
“Families across the country face the biggest threats to their health coverage in a generation. As Medicaid cuts and new paperwork requirements take hold, community health workers are seeing the impacts of these cuts firsthand and are often the people who make sure eligible families don’t lose care to red tape. This Coalition gives CHWs an organized national voice in the fights ahead, and Families USA is proud to stand alongside them.”
— Anthony Wright, Executive Director, Families USA
“CHWs lead. Partners collaborate. Policy changes through collective action.”
— Koren Carbuccia, CEO and Founder, Rhode Island Independent Community Health Works
Learn more and join us
Join the coalition · See our members · nationalchwpolicy.org · info@nationalchwpolicy.org