We focus on a number of topic areas identified by state health policy leaders as important to population health.
Keep up with news and updates from the Milbank Memorial Fund. Get the latest from thought leaders, including Christopher F. Koller, president of the Fund.
We publish The Milbank Quarterly, as well as reports, issues briefs, and case studies on topics important to population health.
The Center for Evidence-based Policy at Oregon Health & Science University is a national leader in evidence-based decision making and policy design.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is an endowed operating foundation that publishes The Milbank Quarterly, commissions projects, and convenes state health policy decision makers on issues they identify as important to population health.
Jul 28, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
I have a new emergency room (ER) drama for television in mind. In my TV drama, there are no sirens and no gurneys racing through the corridors. There are no overworked doctors or heart-tugging patients or gut-wrenching triage decisions. Instead, my TV drama commences with a more common ER scene—a crowded waiting room full of bored, sick people, many of them disoriented and distressed. Cut to … Read more
Jun 24, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
With threats of lawsuits and pressure from government officials, some payers appear to be relaxing their coverage guidelines for expensive direct-acting antiviral drugs (DAAs), including drugs for Hepatitis C. Read more
May 26, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
If I die before my time, is it my fault? If I drank a lot of alcohol, drove too fast, didn’t wear a seat belt, and crashed—most would say yes, I had it coming. If I got hit by that driver while walking on the sidewalk, it would be a terrible tragedy. What about groups of people who die early? Read more
Apr 25, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
My e-mail inbox is full of innovations—solicitations for health care meetings, most offering “unique opportunities” to hear from “national leaders,” all of whom are busy innovating. Much of the conference fodder focuses on payment reform. Read more
Mar 23, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
We are not the first country to wrestle with the effects of fee-for-service medicine, it seems. I recently picked up the book, The Forging of a Rebel, an autobiography of Spanish Civil War veteran Arturo Barea—and encountered the durable power of economic incentives in medical care. Read more
Feb 16, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
Dear Health Care Payers: We gathered 25 of you—insurance company staff, Medicaid officials, and Medicare staff—earlier this month to compare notes on your work with Medicare’s Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative, a multi-payer initiative that fosters collaboration between public and private health care payers in seven markets to strengthen primary care. It is apparent that this sort … Read more
Jan 20, 2016 | Christopher F. Koller, President
The hip-hop Broadway musical about Alexander Hamilton’s life may be the hottest ticket in town, but Hamilton’s well-known advocacy for a strong national government is not getting much love on the campaign trail or in political discourse. Read more
Dec 17, 2015 | Christopher F. Koller, President
At the end of 2015, it is worth taking a look at some of the progress that has been made this year advancing population health in this country. A little bit of love is called for: advocacy to improve the health of large numbers of people can be a lonely trail. It is far easier to arouse public sympathies for health care—for named victims, heroic healers, and miracle therapies. Health improvement … Read more
Nov 17, 2015 | Christopher F. Koller, President
Few policies intended to help people live longer are more effective than those targeting teen pregnancy rates. Yet even when those policies work, they are fraught with controversy and conflict. A look at what’s currently going on in Colorado demonstrates some of the challenges in addressing the social determinants of health. The evidence regarding factors that contribute to premature death is … Read more
Oct 19, 2015 | Christopher F. Koller, President
When I regulated commercial health insurance in Rhode Island, I would point out that the politically conservative notion of a free market for health insurance depends on the liberal principle of collectivism. Health insurance only works if enough people come together so the many who are healthy can pay for the few who are sick—and if payments from insurers actually help improve the … Read more
by Christopher Koller | President, Milbank Memorial Fund
For more blog posts by Milbank staff and guest authors, read: The Milbank Blog
The Milbank Memorial Fund is an endowed operating foundation that works to improve the health of populations by connecting leaders and decision makers with the best available evidence and experience.
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