- All PHFA systems will be unavailable starting on, December 20th, 2025 from 8:00 am until 2:00 pm for system maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Health for Housing Investment (HHI) Program
About the Initiative
In 2023, PHFA established the Health for Housing Investment (HHI) Program, building on a year-long planning and engagement process funded by the National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA). The HHI Program creates incentives in PHFA’s flagship programs to increase investment from the healthcare sector into affordable housing projects while simultaneously strengthening cross-sector partnerships and enhancing residential services and quality of life.
The HHI Program focuses predominately on the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. In addition to setting aside at least one 9% low-income housing tax credit for a HHI project, PHFA has also committed $10 million from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) fund to serve as a match for healthcare investments in HHI projects.
Outside of the LIHTC incentives, PHFA has also identified “Health for Housing Investment” as a new funding category within the PHARE Plan and RFP and is continuing to integrate HHI principles across additional programs and PHFA-led initiatives.
Please read on for more details about funding, past work, health and housing resources, and upcoming events.
Funding Opportunities
9% LIHTC
Since the 2024 Low Income Housing Tax Credit application round, PHFA has set aside at least one 9% tax credit for projects that meet the Health for Housing Investment project requirements including:
- Projects must include a capital investment from a healthcare entity.
- Capital contributions include a grant, loan, debt, or the contribution of land and/or existing structure(s).
- Healthcare entities include healthcare payers such as Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and other insurers, health providers such as hospital systems, and hospital conversion foundations.
- More details about program requirements can be found in the current QAP and/or application.
Health for Housing Investment eligible projects may also be eligible for up to $2 million in matching funds for healthcare partner capital contributions.
Projects interested in applying for matching funds must complete a PHARE application in addition to a tax credit application. Additional information about the matching funds can be found in the current PHARE plan and/or RFP.
Key Dates/Program Timeline
- Applications are closed for the current funding round – please check back later for updates!
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4% LIHTC
4% LIHTC applications that meet Health for Housing Investment requirements may apply for up to $1.5 million in matching funds for healthcare partner capital contributions. Health for Housing Investment projects requirements include:
- Projects must include a permanent capital investment from a healthcare entity.
- Capital contributions include a grant, loan, debt, or the contribution of land and/or existing structure(s).
- Healthcare entities include healthcare payers such as Medicaid Managed Care Organizations and other insurers, health providers such as hospital systems, and hospital conversion foundations.
- More details about program requirements can be found in the current QAP and/or application.
Projects interested in applying for matching funds must complete a PHARE application in addition to a tax credit application. Additional information about the matching funds can be found in the current PHARE plan and/or RFP.
Key Dates/Program Timeline
- Applications are closed for the current funding round – please check back later for updates!
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Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE)
As part of the 2024 PHARE Plan, PHFA added a new funding category entitled “Health for Housing Investment.” This funding category is for projects that include funding contributions from a healthcare partner.
This category is meant to comprise any project that includes a healthcare funding partner and consists of activities related to any of the identified PHARE Priorities for Funding including:
- Preservation of the current stock of rental housing or the development/creation of new affordable rental housing;
- Funding for projects/programs to address ongoing housing needs, facilitating housing stability and reducing homelessness;
- Funding for comprehensive housing and redevelopment efforts that address blighted and abandoned properties;
- Creating new opportunities for affordable homeownership; and
- Other efforts that address unmet housing and community development needs
Additional details about the PHARE Health for Housing Investment funding category can be found in the current PHARE plan.
Key Dates/Program Timeline
- Applications are closed for the current funding round – please check back later for updates!
Work to Date
December 2024: Homes within Reach Conference Presentation
In this presentation from the 2024 Homes Within Reach Conference, PHFA provided an update on the Health for Housing Investment Program, including information on the next application round and new opportunities for additional funding. The presentation also included a panel of the first HHI LIHTC awardees, who discussed how they developed partnerships with the healthcare sector and best practices for others interested in taking on this work.
Presenters included: Donna Bullock (President and CEO of Project HOME), Aliha Nasrullah (Director of Estadt-Lubert Collaborative), Tina Hansen-Turton (President and CEO of Woods System of Care), Christine Simiriglia (President and CEO of Pathways to Housing PA) and Kathleen Mullin (Director of Housing Initiatives at AmeriHealth Caritas).
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April 2024: PHFA Health and Housing Summit
PHFA held its first in-person health and housing summit on April 15th, 2024, to advance the goals of the Health for Housing Investment (HHI) program. The event brought together housing and healthcare professionals to explore motivations and challenges experienced by both parties in health and housing partnerships. Presentations and panel discussions featured Pennsylvania healthcare and housing development experts and discussed best practices and real-world examples of successful health and housing partnerships.
- PHFA Health Housing Summit: Afternoon Slides
- PHFA Health Housing Summit: Morning Slides
- Summit Speaker Bios
September 2023: Educational Webinar – Hospital Investment in Affordable Housing
In this educational webinar, PHFA was joined by St. Joseph’s Health and New Jersey CDC (Paterson, NJ) who provided insight into their Barclay Homes Project, the first project completed in the NJHMFA’s Hospital Partnership Subsidy Program. The webinar also featured NYC Health + Hospitals who provided insight into the Housing for Health program, created to move patients experiencing homelessness into permanent housing to improve their health and wellbeing.
December 2022 – February 2023: Stakeholder Engagement Sessions
Following the public kickoff, PHFA held 5 formal stakeholder engagement sessions targeted by type of stakeholders. These included representatives from Managed Care Organizations, community-based organizations, hospitals and healthcare providers, developers, and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
- CBO Engagement Session Summary
- CDC Engagement Session Summary
- Hospital and Health System Engagement Session Summary
- MCO Engagement Session Summary
December 2022: Health Housing, Health Communities (H3C) Public Kick-off
The first phase of H3C Engagement began with a public program kickoff on December 15th, 2022. This call focused on introducing the planning grant, laying out PHFA’s goals for the grant period and outlining the upcoming opportunities for more direct engagement.
June 2022: Healthy Housing, Healthy Communities Planning Grant Received
- Link to Press Release
Additional Resources
External
- The Path to Partnership: Lessons Learned in the Pursuit of Joint Initiatives between Affordable Housing Providers and Medicaid Managed Care Programs (Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future, 2017)
- Affordable Housing Investment: A Guide for Nonprofit Hospitals and Health Systems (Urban Institute, 2019)
- From Idea to Action: Building the Team for Housing and Health Collaborations (Urban Institute, 2017)
- Developing Housing and Health Collaborations: Opportunities and Challenges (Urban Institute, 2016)
- From Silos to Collaborations: Building a Health Partner Investment Strategy (Center for Community Investment and NeighborWorks America, 2022)
- Health and Housing: Introduction to Cross-Sector Collaboration (NASHP and CSH, 2021)
- Health System Investments in Housing: A Development Guide (New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency and CSH, 2020)
- Housing as Health Care: A Road Map for States (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2016)
- Improving Community Health by Strengthening Community Investment: Roles for Hospitals and Health Systems (Center for Community Investment, Initiative for Responsible Investment, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017)
Get Involved/Contact
Want more information? Have a project you’d like to discuss? Want more information?
Please contact Senior Program Officer, Amy Sechrist
Mailing List
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