Kind Clinic lands $500,000 grant to expand insurance help for uninsured LGBTQ patients

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Kind Clinic's patients are about 60% uninsured, more than double the Texas rate. A new $500,000 grant from St. David's Foundation will let the Austin clinic pay premiums and cover lab and medication costs as open enrollment begins November 1.

The money goes to the Kind Patient Assistance Program, which helped nearly 900 patients in 2025 with about $600,000 in premium payments. It arrives after enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expired in December 2025, a change that has pushed Texas Marketplace enrollment down 4%.

Why it matters

Without restored ACA subsidies, rising premiums keep pushing uninsured LGBTQ Texans into safety-net clinics that survive on grants like this one.

Monday: what changed in Austin, TX

One short email a week with the openings, closings, permits and council votes we covered. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

$500,000

Grant from St. David's Foundation

Funds the Kind Patient Assistance Program's fifth year of enrollment help.

60%

Kind Clinic patients uninsured

More than double the statewide uninsured rate in 2025.

~900

Patients assisted in 2025

Received premium payments totaling close to $600,000.

Texas Marketplace enrollment decline

Compared to the prior year, following the expiration of enhanced subsidies.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Ever wondered what historical figures would say about today's headlines?

People Involved

Christopher Hamilton

Chief executive officer, Texas Health Action

Leading the organization as it expands insurance assistance

Juan Benitez

Chief advancement officer, Texas Health Action

Helped secure the grant

Organizations Involved

Texas Health Action

Nonprofit health organization

Parent organization of Kind Clinic; operates KPAP

Nonprofit that runs the Kind Clinic and its patient assistance program in Central Texas.

Kind Clinic

Healthcare clinic

Grant recipient

Austin-based clinic providing LGBTQ and HIV care, including sexual health services.

St. David's Foundation

Health foundation

Grant funder

Austin-based health foundation that funds healthcare access programs in Central Texas.

Timeline

2025 October 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday

Tap a bar to jump to that date

October 2026
Kind Clinic announces $500,000 grant
Latest Funding

St. David's Foundation grant expands insurance help for uninsured LGBTQ and HIV-impacted patients.
Yesterday
2026
Texas Marketplace enrollment drops 4%
Data

National enrollment data released this summer shows Marketplace enrollment declining after subsidy expiration.
2026
December 2025
Enhanced ACA subsidies expire
Policy

Congressional enhancement of ACA premium tax credits ends, raising premiums for Marketplace enrollees.
December 2025
2025
Kind Clinic assistance program helps nearly 900 patients
Program report

KPAP provides about $600,000 in premium payments to uninsured and underinsured patients.
2025

Scenarios

Kind Clinic enrolls record numbers during open enrollment

Possible Resolves by Feb 28, 2027

Discussed by: Texas Health Action leadership, which publicly aims to cut the clinic's 60% uninsured rate

With the grant funding premium payments and enrollment help, the clinic assists more patients during the 2026-27 open enrollment than the nearly 900 helped in 2025. Success depends on demand and on patients' ability to afford premiums even with assistance.

Grant funding runs out before open enrollment ends

Possible Resolves by Jan 31, 2027

Discussed by: The clinic's 60% uninsured rate and rising premiums from the subsidy expiration

If demand is high, the $500,000 could be exhausted before open enrollment closes January 15, 2027. Patients would face waitlists or reduced premium assistance.

Congress restores enhanced ACA subsidies

Unlikely Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Democratic lawmakers and coverage advocates who backed the enhanced subsidies

If Congress restores the enhanced ACA premium tax credits, premiums fall and Marketplace enrollment could rebound, reducing the pressure Kind Clinic faces. Republicans control Congress entering 2027, making this an uphill push.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

August 1990

Ryan White CARE Act (1990)

Named for Ryan White, an Indiana teen who contracted HIV through a blood transfusion and was barred from school, the law created the largest federal program for people with HIV. It funded care, medications, and support for uninsured and underinsured patients.

Then

Rapidly expanded access to HIV care for people who couldn't get it through private insurance or Medicaid.

Now

Ryan White programs still fund HIV clinics nationwide, and the model of grants filling coverage gaps persists.

Why this matters now

Kind Clinic's patient assistance program mirrors that model at a local level, using foundation grants to cover HIV prevention and care costs that insurance doesn't.

April 2023 – mid 2024

Medicaid unwinding (2023-2024)

When the COVID-19 public health emergency's continuous coverage requirement ended in March 2023, states resumed Medicaid eligibility checks. Millions of people lost coverage during the unwinding, many for procedural reasons like not returning paperwork.

Then

Safety-net clinics reported surges in uninsured patients and higher demand for charity care and enrollment help.

Now

The episode underscored how quickly coverage losses concentrate demand on clinics that rely on grants and donations.

Why this matters now

Like the unwinding, the expiration of enhanced ACA subsidies in December 2025 is a coverage-loss event that pushes uninsured patients toward safety-net clinics like Kind Clinic.