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
News Article
March 2026 Morgan McDonald,
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
Blog Post
March 2026 Cori E. Uccello, Annette James, Rebecca A. Sheppard, Sara Teppema,
Public programs have increasingly sought to address health-related social needs that create barriers to care and health disparities and drive health care costs. For instance, several state Medicaid programs now cover medically tailored meals, housing supports, and non-emergency transportation through managed care and demonstration waivers. More
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
March 2026 Debra Lubar,
My modern high-rise apartment overlooks one of the few historical ruins in New York City. The remains of New York’s smallpox hospital,… More
February 2026 Mary Louise Gilburg,
In January 2026, William H. Foege, a former Centers for Disease and Control Prevention director who helped develop the smallpox vaccine strategy that… More
February 2026 Debra Lubar,
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… More
Event
January 2026 Mary Louise Gilburg,
A recent webinar on how public health leaders, state policymakers, and others can strengthen communication about evidence-based health issues.… More
January 2026 Joanne Kenen,
The potential implications of the federal government’s shifting approach to shared decision-making for children’s immunizations. More
January 2026 Kara Odom Walker, Rachel J. Thornton, Steven M. Costantino, Andrew Wilson,
“If we want to change the trajectory of adults’ health, we have to start with the health of children.” Over the past decade,… More
January 2026 Morgan McDonald,
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
