From 1996 to 1999, the National Health Policy Forum (NHPF) held a continuing series of forums and site visits designed to help professional staff in the executive and legislative branches of the federal government gain a more realistic understanding of actual health practices and problems.

The forums, launched in 1971 at George Washington University, are intended to improve communication between Washington-based professional staff and health practitioners in the field.

Key Results
From 1996 to 1999, the National Health Policy Forum conducted:

• Thirty-eight regular forum meetings and produced an issue brief on each forum topic.
• Twelve workshops on specialized topics, and five site visits to health-related programs around the country.
• A four-day "Health Insurance and Managed Care Institute."
• The forum also produced five background papers, two of which were published in Health Affairs and Academic Medicine.

After the Grant
As of October 2006, RWJF awarded renewal grants totaling $7.3 million through August 2008 (ID#s 030252, 038446, 050695).

Funding
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) provided partial support for this project through a grant of $1,939,973 to George Washington University.