Milbank State Leadership Network

 

The Milbank State Leadership Network is a bipartisan group of more than 400 state health policymakers from the executive and legislative branches.

  • “The states are really where health policy action is. There are 50 state labs, plus DC, plus the territories, and they’re innovating in a thousand different ways. To be able to bring state leaders together to enhance their leadership potential is where we feel like the greatest difference can be made in population health and health equity.”

    Morgan McDonald
    Morgan McDonald, MD

    National Director for Population Health and Health Equity Leadership, Milbank Memorial Fund

What is the MSLN?

The Milbank State Leadership Network (MSLN) is composed of state officials and staff focused on improving population health and health equity. Milbank National Population Health and Health Equity Leadership Director Morgan McDonald, MD, shares the latest evidence and relevant peer experiences in her monthly MSLN newsletter and in member-only briefings featuring experts and state and local officials.

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If you are a current member of state or local government seeking evidence and experience that will help you improve the health of the people in your state or local area, contact us at info@milbank.org.

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Technical Assistance

The MSLN supports technical assistance convenings for states. These maybe peer-to-peer information-sharing sessions or meetings with an issue expert.

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Briefings

MSLN’s virtual briefings feature subject matter experts and experienced state policymakers discussing topics that are highly relevant to today’s legislative and executive branch state leaders.

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Emerging Leaders Program

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is a 10-month leadership development program for early and mid-career legislative and executive branch state, large-county, and large-city government officials.

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Milbank Fellows Program

The Milbank Fellows Program (MFP) is a 10-month leadership program for senior executive branch and legislative state leaders who are committed to improving population health in their communities.

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Latest State Leadership Resources

  • Ann Gillespie: Succeeding in Both Branches of Government

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  • Grace for the Gaps 

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  • The Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report: Milbank State Leadership Network Post-Briefing Fact Sheet

    Read More

  • State Leadership Resource Library

    Resource Types

    Current Topics

    Blog Post

    Innovations in Rural Obstetrics to Maintain Access to Care

    September 2024
    Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald and Erin E. Sullivan
    The closures of rural hospitals and obstetric services has created an urgent need for innovative approaches to maintaining high-quality obstetrics care in these areas. In the past 10 years, over 200 rural hospitals have discontinued providing labor and delivery services; now less than half of rural hospitals provide this care.   In March 2024, leaders […] More

    Blog Post

    Charting a New History: A Moderate Republican Calls for Change

    September 2024
    Charlie Conrad
    The Milbank Memorial Fund is committed to the leadership development, nonpartisanship, and the depolarization efforts needed to bring all parties to the table to think critically and debate with civility as we collectively move toward better health and health care systems for all the populations we serve. As part of this work, we are inviting […] More

    Blog Post

    Confronting the Bully: New North Carolina Medicaid Program Gets Hospitals to Forgive and Prevent Medical Debt

    September 2024
    Christopher F. Koller
    A new Medicaid-based program in North Carolina is expected to relieve approximately $4 billion in medical debt. More

    News Article

    Ann Gillespie: Succeeding in Both Branches of Government

    August 2024
    Joanne Kenan
    Not many people enter state government after a successful decades-long run in the private sector. Even fewer end up serving in both the state Senate and the executive branch. That’s the path of former Milbank Fellow Ann Gillespie, now serving as the acting insurance commissioner of Illinois. She’s added a whole new dimension to the term […] More

    Publication

    Leveraging a Standardized State Methodology that Measures Behavioral Health Clinical Spending to Improve Care

    August 2024
    Vinayak Sinha, Emma Rourke and Mary Jo Condon
    This report discusses states’ use cases for a standardized approach to measuring behavioral health spending and considerations for implementation, leveraging recommendations for a standard methodology published in a previous Milbank report. More

    Publication

    The Commonwealth Fund 2024 State Health Disparities Report: Milbank State Leadership Network Post-Briefing Fact Sheet

    July 2024
    Sofia Espinosa and Mary Louise Gilburg
    An overview of an MLSN briefing on the Commonwealth Fund’s 2024 state health disparities report. More

    Blog Post

    Impact of Supreme Court Chevron Decision on Health Policy

    July 2024
    Christine Haran and Marci Nielsen, PhD, MPH
    The Supreme Court has overturned longstanding precedent by striking down the “Chevron doctrine” – a 40-year-old standard that required courts to defer to regulatory agencies to interpret ambiguous laws. Experts say it will dramatically change the way key health agencies do business. More

    Publication

    U.S. Health and Human Services Department Secretary’s Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative Expert Evidence Convening

    July 2024
    Christine Haran, Sofia Espinosa, Mary Louise Gilburg and Morgan McDonald
    With direction from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Milbank Memorial Fund convened four panels designed to synthesize evidence and opportunities for postpartum mortality reduction to inform the Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative. More

    News Article

    Kentucky State Rep. Kimberly Moser’s Pragmatic Approach to Improving Health in Her State

    July 2024
    Joanne Kenan
    In Kentucky, state Rep. Kimberly Moser, a neonatal intensive care and flight nurse turned policymaker, managed to get sweeping legislation passed on both those issues after just a few terms in the legislature. More

    Publication

    Defining the State Role in Primary Care Reform

    May 2024
    Lauryn Walker, Lisa Dulsky Watkins and Christopher F. Koller
    States should consider six key activities to prioritize resources and use their authority most effectively. More