Our nation lost a great man last week. His name was Andy Hyman and he was a senior program officer at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He was a champion for the most vulnerable among us, fighting throughout his career to bring better health care to those who needed it most. For years, he directed the Foundation’s resources towards research, advocacy and coalition-building with one goal in mind: reforming our health care system so that more people could gain access to affordable, adequate health coverage. Thanks in no small part to his vision and commitment, millions of Americans are now gaining health insurance and with it, access to care and greater financial security.

Here at CHIR, we lost a supporter and friend. Andy was the best of all possible partners. He asked the tough questions, made us do our due diligence and held us to the highest of standards. When it was time to start work, he placed his total trust and confidence in us. He had a great policy mind and deep intellectual curiosity. More fundamentally, he was a good, thoughtful and kind person. For the health policy community that knew him and loved him his loss is a giant void that will be deeply felt for a long time. Thank you Andy. We miss you.