State Health Policy Leadership

Despite a robust body of evidence demonstrating that strong primary care is foundational to a high-performing health system associated with improved population health, greater equity, and lower overall costs, primary care in the US suffers chronic underinvestment. The United States currently spends only 4 to 5 cents on primary care for every dollar spent on […] More

In January, Minnesota launched its paid family and medical leave program, making it one of 13 states with a statewide paid leave program in place or in process. For this Q&A, Milbank’s National Director for Population Health, Morgan McDonald, MD, talked with the legislation’s sponsors, Former Rep. Ruth Richardson, an alumna of the Emerging Leaders Program, and Sen. Alice Mann, MD, an alumna of the Milbank Fellows Program, about their motivations and approach to passing the bill. Both interviewees highlighted how their ongoing communication with each other and with the members of a large and diverse coalition — as well as their use of both storytelling and data — led to this investment in Minnesota’s families and businesses. (Watch a video of the interview at right.) More

Which pregnant women are most likely to rely on emergency department care, and how can they be better served? How did COVID-19 affect birth outcomes, and what would support improvements in future infectious disease outbreaks? These and other questions can be answered with existing state data when these data are integrated. More

I was raised in a football family. Not that anyone played. We were Washington, DC NFL fans, with Sundays consumed by the team now called the Commanders. As a little girl, I had a poster of the referee signals on my bedroom wall, perhaps an early indicator that I would have a career in policy. […] More

Long concerned about the impact of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) on pharmaceutical prices, Milbank’s Emerging Leaders Program alumna Kim Chen developed and helped pass 2025 state budget legislation to create licensure for these entities. More

The potential implications of the federal government’s shifting approach to shared decision-making for children’s immunizations. More

Yesterday, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) childhood immunization recommendations, reducing the number of recommended vaccinations from 17 to 11 More

Rural Regional Organizations for Cooperation present an opportunity to build more robust and sustainable health care solutions for rural areas. More

Copublished with the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy Abstract  Recent federal policy reforms and funding reductions pose significant challenges to state Medicaid programs. These changes will likely disrupt Medicaid agencies’ investments in innovative initiatives — such as efforts to address upstream drivers of health and modernize health information technology — that drive progress toward advancing high-quality, accessible, and cost-effective care. At the […] More

“Hi, Chris and John! How are you doing?”  Dawnie greets us cheerfully, pushing a cart full of dirty utensils towards the elevator of the nursing home we are visiting. My friend and I met her when she coordinated volunteers at the same facility. We ask her “Why the change in roles?”   “Well, the hours are […] More