The Fund supports networks of state health policy decision makers to help identify, inspire, and inform policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund supports two state leadership programs for legislative and executive branch state government officials committed to improving population health.
The Fund identifies and shares policy ideas and analysis to advance state health leadership, strong primary care, and sustainable health care costs.
Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. And read the latest posts from our staff and guest authors.
The Fund publishes The Milbank Quarterly, as well as reports, issues briefs, and case studies on topics important to health policy leaders.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is is a foundation that works to improve population health and health equity.
Social drivers of health
May 2026 Rashawn Ray, Keon Gilbert,
The United States incarcerates more people per capita than any peer nation, and its criminal justice system disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. More
Health Disparities
May 2026 Silvia Cannas, Maria Cucciniello,
Trust in the US health care system has declined substantially in recent years, threatening patient engagement, care outcomes, and health policy effectiveness. More
Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Policy
May 2026 Sayeh Nikpay, Mikayla Reinke, Nicole Quinones,
The 1992 340B Drug Pricing Program (“340B”) started as a narrowly focused program aimed at Public Health Service Act–funded clinics and public hospitals. Today 340B includes two-thirds of all nonprofit hospitals in the United States and accounts for more than $80 billion in discounted drug purchases. More
May 2026 Justin Frazer,
For more than a decade, US health policy has been moving toward value-based care, or paying for health outcomes rather than the number of services delivered. And yet, even within many value-based models, preventive care often remains financially difficult to sustain. More
State Health Policy
May 2026 Jonathan M. Metzl,
In April 2018, a naked man with an AR-15 burst into a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee. Firing at random, he murdered four people and gravely injured five more before escaping into the night. More
May 2026
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) response to the recent hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship reflects “the atrophy of American public health,” according to a new Milbank Quarterly Opinion by Lawrence O. Gostin of Georgetown University and the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights. More
Global Health
May 2026 Lawrence O. Gostin,
For more than three decades, I have worked alongside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during many of the world’s most consequential biological threats—from the containment of SARS-CoV-1 and the West African Ebola epidemic to the global responses to Zika and COVID-19. More
Milbank State Leadership Network State Health Policy Leadership
In this edited Q&A and video with Milbank’s Morgan McDonald, MD, Jeff Lunardi—then interim Medicaid director at Virginia’s Department of Medical Assistance Services (Cardinal Care)—shares practical lessons on prioritization, nonpartisan leadership, and agency stability during a gubernatorial handoff. More
Mental Health
May 2026 Michael Shepherd, Bethany Albertson,
Context: Politics is increasingly important to many Americans. Yet little is known about how the increasing centrality of politics affects… More
May 2026 Kevin Fiscella, Alejandro J. Vera, Ashley M. Jenkins,
Edmund Pellegrino warned about the growing commodification of health and health care in the United States. After twenty-five years, it is worth revisiting Pellegrino’s critique and examining this critique in the current era. More
