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.
Focus Area
Publication
June 2026
This Spotlight Brief demonstrates the health and economic impacts of heat emergencies, using a summer heat wave as a case study. More
News Article
June 2026 Morgan McDonald,
In this interview about managing executive branch transitions in state government, Debra Farrington, Deputy Secretary for Health in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, emphasized identifying priorities, engaging with legislators, and documenting relationships with community partners, so that important initiatives are understood as shared commitments. More
June 2026 Alida Austin, Katie M. Huber, Brianna Van Stekelenburg, Kody H. Kinsley, Rebecca G. Whitaker,
North Carolina’s Healthy Opportunities Pilots (HOP) program, which was paused in July 2025 due to state funding constraints, tested whether providing evidence-based services to address upstream drivers of health for eligible Medicaid members could improve health outcomes, reduce costs, and address disparities in three predominantly rural regions of the state. More
May 2026
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
Blog Post
May 2026 Debra Lubar,
One year ago in April, I walked off CDC’s campus for the last time, after spending over 20 years in the agency. More
May 2026 Sofia Espinosa,
Amidst rapid changes to the federal, state, and local health policy landscape, the Milbank Memorial Fund is committed… More
April 2026 Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald,
The Milbank State Leadership Network hosted a virtual session for state legislators and executive branch leaders to discuss how states are planning to leverage the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) to improve maternal and child health (MCH). Leaders from Mississippi, Indiana, and Oklahoma shared early implementation strategies, highlighting how states are aligning funding, infrastructure, and community partnerships to expand access to care and improve outcomes. More
April 2026 Morgan McDonald,
Last month, Milbank National Director for Population Health Morgan McDonald, MD, and Morissa Henn, DrPH, Deputy Commissioner, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, met to discuss how Henn has applied the principles of adaptive leadership to her work. More
April 2026 Lori Rodefeld, Emily M. Hawes, Raquel Davis, Shelby Rimmler-Cohen, Heidi B. Miller, Mary Alice Scott, Mukesh Adhikari, Erin Fraher,
This evidence-based framework organizes a GME growth strategy into five iterative stages: exploration, strategy development, strategy design, technical assistance, and optimization. More
March 2026 Kevin Grumbach, Deborah J. Cohen, Stephanie B. Gold, Rebecca S. Etz, Lauren S. Hughes , Robert L. Phillips, Andrew Bazemore, Elisabeth Wilson, Russell S. Phillips,
Despite a robust body of evidence demonstrating that strong primary care is foundational to a high-performing health system associated with improved… More
