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.
Publication Topic
Blog Post
March 2026 Margaret Koller, Joe Brecht,
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
November 2025 Eva H. Allen, Jennifer M. Haley,
In 2024, there were 18.7 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births, with Black and Native women at significantly higher risk of maternal mortality. Medicaid is at the forefront of addressing the US maternal health crisis given that it covers 4 in 10 births nationwide, nearly two-thirds of births to Black women, and more than one-quarter of births to Native women. More
June 2025 Lauren Christiansen-Lindquist,
The health and well-being of all Americans — but especially women and babies — relies on timely and accurate data. Pregnancy and early childhood are particularly vulnerable periods that require careful monitoring, support, and response. The more up-to-date information we have, the better chance we have of preventing unnecessary deaths, building healthy families, and setting children up for success. Yet, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s changes to the agency eliminated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health, among other divisions, almost entirely. More
Publication
March 2025 Sofia Espinosa, Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald,
In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Milbank Memorial Fund convened the second of two virtual meetings in support of the multi-state Secretary’s Postpartum Maternal Health Collaborative. More
October 2024 Sofia Espinosa, Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald,
In this briefing, authors of the Commonwealth Fund’s Women’s Health Scorecard provided key findings and state policymakers from Arkansas, Mississippi and New Jersey offered discussed state strategies to increase reproductive health care access and improve maternal health outcomes. More
September 2024 Mary Louise Gilburg, Morgan McDonald, Erin E. Sullivan,
The closures of rural hospitals and obstetric services has created an urgent need for innovative approaches to maintaining high-quality obstetrics… More
Virtual Briefing
August 2024
This August 26, 2024, briefing featured a conversation with the authors of the Commonwealth Fund women’s health scorecard and officials from three states focused on state application of the data and approaches to improving women’s health access and outcomes. More
July 2024 Sofia Espinosa, Mary Louise Gilburg, 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
August 2023 Faith Mitchell, Kimá Joy Taylor,
Maternal mortality in the United States is more than three times the rate in most other high-income countries–and it is worsening. The rate more… More
News Article
July 2020
Alabama has persistently had one of the highest infant mortality rates in the United States—one on par with those in developing nations. But in 2017, Alabama saw a nearly 20% drop in its infant mortality rate. By 2018, the infant mortality rate dropped for the second consecutive year, thanks in part to the state’s revitalized perinatal regionalization program. More
