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AccessHealth staff pitch their idea to create an insurance plan for small businesses seeking to cover employees with basic primary care. The health center won $10,000 to support their idea as part of the NACHC Innovation Incubator, supported by Direct Relief and held at the organization's Santa Barbara. California headquarters on Oct. 9, 2026.(Direct Relief photo)
With challenges looming like Medicaid cuts, workforce shortages, and resource gaps, health centers across the United States are being asked to do more with less, and it would be easy to picture a gloomy outlook from these critical providers.
But that was the opposite of the atmosphere in the room earlier this month, when eight health centers gathered at Direct Relief headquarters from across the U.S. to dynamically pitch ideas, Y Combinator style, to a panel of judges and other health centers for seed money to launch a project that will help their communities. They were all gathered in a spirit of creativity and innovation as part of the National Association of Community Health Centers Innovation Gathering, supported by Direct Relief.
Health centers from across the United States gathered on Oct. 9, 2026, at Direct Relief’s headquarters in Santa Barbara, California, to pitch ideas and win funding as part of the NACHC Innovation Incubator. (Direct Relief photo)
Eight health centers – AccessHealth of Richmond, Texas; Community Health Services, Inc., of Rochester, Minnesota; Family Health Center of Worcester, Massachusetts; HealthLinc of South Bend, Indiana; 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, Hawai’i – were all part of the cohort pitching their programs.
AccessHealth, located in Richmond, Texas, was awarded $10,000 as a judge’s pick. Family Health Center of Worcester also won $10,000 and was chosen as an audience favorite by the other health centers in the room.
Staff from Family Health Center of Worcester, Massachusetts, are pictured with Direct Relief and NACHC staff after winning the audience favorite award. (Direct Relief photo)
The organizations spent the day presenting solutions they’ve built to support the ecosystem of innovation in community health. The event also included several talks with NACHC and Direct Relief leaders followed by incubator pitch presentations. Talks spanned topics like easing staff burden, the importance of partnership, and more.
“The Bridge is Innovation”
Direct Relief CEO Amy Weaver and NACHC’s Sean Roddy speak to health centers as part of the day’s events. (Direct Relief photo)
More than 78 applications had poured in from 30 states, and culminated in eight health centers pitching their ideas. Two of the health centers have already secured additional funding. The event provided space for these critical health providers to think deeply about how their centers can continue to reach patients in creative ways.
One in seven Americans receive health services from health centers, and 1 in 3 patients live in rural areas. Health centers serve more than 52 million patients each year. With the impacts of Medicaid cuts already being felt, health centers are having to do more with less and think creatively in the process.
“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. The event was NACHC’s third incubator, and Roddy said that the ideas shared could be scaled to help other health centers.
“We want people to be able to see what you’re able to do to solve problems and take that back to their health centers.”
Direct Relief CEO Amy Weaver welcomed the health centers to the organization’s headquarters and spoke about the organization’s decision to support healthcare in the United States after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The organization could ship medications around the world, but not to health centers in the U.S., she said.
Direct Relief is a disaster response organization, but also supports safety net care in an ongoing way.
“It’s made me think, ‘What is a disaster?’ she said, adding that natural disasters often get attention, but health centers are facing enormous challenges daily due to policy decisions out of their control.
Medicaid cuts expected to drop many people from their health insurance next year are “a slow tsunami we can see coming,” she said.
Roddy said 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 the loss of coverage could lead to more than 1,400 excess deaths yearly and more than 94,000 hospitalizations that could have been preventable.
“This loss of coverage is real,” he said. “Health centers still have to see those patients, regardless of ability to pay.”
In spite of the challenges, Weaver said that health centers are creating outcomes that impact people for good. “The innovation that is really shaping people’s lives, it’s coming out of places like health centers,” she said.
Katie Lewis, Director of U.S. Programs for Direct Relief, and Camila Silva, NACHC’s Deputy Director, Center for Community Health Innovation, also spoke to the health centers.
“Our work will always be informed by what you’re saying,” Lewis said to the room of health center staff. “You’re the experts.”
Aside from more funding for health centers, solving workforce challenges, increasing access and continuity of care are all part of the conversation, she said. After Hurricane Sandy, mobile units were seen as a tool only in an emergency setting, but health centers began using them more widely to reach patients with limited access during non-emergency times, she said.
“The way to fill these gaps is to continue these conversations,” Lewis said, adding that NACHC having a center of innovation encourages this kind of thinking. “I’m optimistic about what we can do, because I know this is a dedicated group.”
“Something Like This is So Needed”
Staff from AccessHealth of Richmond, Texas, with Direct Relief and NACHC staff after winning the judges’ pick award on Oct. 9, 2026, at Direct Relief headquarters. (Direct Relief photo)
AccessHealth, located in Richmond, Texas, was awarded $10,000 as a judges’ pick for the 2026 Innovations Incubator. The clinic, located in a suburb of Houston, serves 19,000 patients a year, and pitched an idea to expand health coverage for local small businesses with 30 employees or fewer who aren’t required to provide employer coverage but still want to help employees access care.
The employer would pay the health center for health coverage for basic primary care, and it would serve as a gap for people who can’t afford to purchase insurance on the marketplace, said Gloria Diaz, Patient Access Programs Supervisor for AccessHealth.
“It’s a privilege to be here with other health centers…We’re doing this together,” Diaz said, with the ultimate goal of replicating what works at other health centers.
AccessHealth formed the idea after meeting extensively with stakeholders about what they most needed. The idea to address this insurance gap came directly from them, said Hannah Gentry, Grants Manager at AccessHealth.
“We were hearing from the heart of the community,” Gentry said. “Something like this is so needed.”
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