ACHP announces new funding to elevate patient voices in diabetes research

The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) announced today a funding award aimed at prioritizing the perspectives of patients with chronic diseases and their families in clinical research, according to a news release.

The award is funded through the Eugene Washington Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Engagement Award Program and is part of a broader PCORI initiative to support research focused on chronic disease. The effort will initially concentrate on diabetes, a condition that affects approximately 40 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An additional 115.2 million people ages 18 and older are estimated to have prediabetes.

The funding is intended to increase patient and family involvement in the research process, with the goal of improving how studies are designed. Incorporating patient input can help researchers better understand daily challenges associated with managing chronic illness and improve the applicability of research findings, according to the news release.

“Patients know better than anyone what it takes to live with a chronic condition,” Ceci Connolly, ACHP president and chief executive officer, said in the release. “Thanks to PCORI’s support, we can now engage individuals and families directly in the research process, design solutions that work in the real world and ultimately help more people stay healthy.”

A Patient Advisory Committee will guide research activities supported by the award, which will include individuals living with chronic disease and family caregivers. Oversight will also include a Steering Committee composed of regional, nonprofit health plan leaders, who will help promote participation and collaboration across member plans.

The new award builds on ACHP’s recent efforts to improve diabetes care and outcomes. In October 2025, ACHP received a $4.2 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to support initiatives focused on improving access to continuous glucose monitors for people living with insulin-requiring diabetes. The 36-month grant runs through September 2028.

Continuous glucose monitors can check blood sugar levels without finger pricks taken four times a day. Instead, they rely on a small sensor inserted under the skin, which records glucose levels every minute throughout the day. Without insurance, continuous glucose monitors can cost between $1,200 and $7,600 annually.

“One out of every four health care dollars spent in the United States goes toward diabetes care, and CGMs are obvious tools to improve lives while saving money,” Connolly said in the October news release. “Because our plans are deeply rooted in their communities, they have a unique responsibility and opportunity to show what’s possible in transforming diabetes care.”

“Health plans play a pivotal role in determining whether people with insulin-requiring diabetes can access life-changing tools such as CGM,” Laurel Koester, program officer at The Helmsley Charitable Trust, said in the news release. “These pilots hold promise to remake the landscape of CGM insurance coverage and signal a future in which CGM is accessible to all who need it.”

ACHP represents nonprofit, community-based health plans that serve more than 24 million Americans nationwide. The organization has previously focused on initiatives aimed at improving care quality, affordability and health equity, particularly for populations with complex health needs.