About The Milbank Quarterly

Continuously published since 1923, The Milbank Quarterly features peer-reviewed original research, policy review, and analysis from academics, clinicians, and policymakers.

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Editor

Alan B. Cohen

Publisher

Christopher F. Koller

Managing Editor

Tara Strome

2-year Impact Factor: 6.6
Journal Citation Reports® 2022 Rankings: 3/87 (Health Policy & Services); 8/105 (Health Care Sciences & Services)
5-year Impact Factor: 8.964

The Latest from The Milbank Quarterly 

Special Issue–Mental Health and Substance Use Challenges Facing the United States: What Can State Policymakers Do?

In June, The Milbank Quarterly will publish a special issue of articles that address state strategies to improve mental and behavioral health, including approaches to strengthening the behavioral health workforce, leveraging AI to address the overdose crisis, and much more. Individual articles are publishing on a rolling basis.

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  1. Early View Original Scholarship

    The Shadow Price of Uncertainty: Consequences of Unpredictable Insurance Coverage for Access, Care, and Financial Security

    By:  Mark Schlesinger Deepon Bhaumik

    Context: Health insurance reform in the United States has focused on expanding enrollment, a goal inhibited by complex insurance provisions. Research… More

  2. Early View Perspective

    Mapping Mental Health Across US States: the Role of Economic and Social Support Policies

    By:  Rachel Donnelly Mateo P. Farina

    Mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) continues to be a major public health concern in the United States that impacts millions of individuals, their families, and communities. Approximately 21% of adults 18 years and older, or 55 million adults, reported symptoms of recent depression in 2022, demonstrating the wide reach of mental health challenges. More

  3. Early View Perspective

    Review of Emergent Financing Models for Mental Health Crisis Systems

    By:  Jonathan Purtle Amanda I Mauri David Frederick

    In this article, we provide an overview of emergent models for funding crisis systems in the United States and the policy and service contexts related to these models. Our review assesses the status of crisis system financing recommendations proposed by Hogan and Goldman proposed in 2020 and complements prior reports about financing crisis services. More

  4. Early View Perspective

    State Policy Strategies to Promote the Recruitment and Retention of the Behavioral Health Workforce

    By:  Briana S. Last Jane M. Zhu

    Access to affordable, effective, timely, and appropriate behavioral health (BH) care remains elusive for most Americans despite health insurance… More

  5. Early View Original Scholarship

    Reported Strategies by Medicaid Managed Care Organizations to Improve Access to Behavioral Health Services

    By:  Jane M. Zhu Ruth Rowland Inga Suneson Deborah J. Cohen K. John McConnell Daniel Polsky

    Context: Behavioral health access gaps are well documented in Medicaid, in which managed care now covers most enrollees, and for which there are… More

  6. Early View Original Scholarship

    What Happened in Delaware Following a Statewide Contraceptive Initiative?

    By:  Constanza Hurtado-Acuna Michael S. Rendall

    Context: The 2015 to 2020 Delaware Contraceptive Access Now (DelCAN) initiative was motivated by Delaware’s having among the highest rates of… More

  7. Early View Original Scholarship

    Scaling an Evidence-Based Community Health Worker Program with Fidelity: Results and Lessons Learned

    By:  Molly Knowles Aditi Vasan Ziwei Pan Judith A. Long Shreya Kangovi

    Context: Community health worker (CHW) programs represent a key strategy for addressing social and structural drivers of health and have the… More

  8. Early View Original Scholarship

    Medicaid Expansion Among Nonelderly Adults and Cardiovascular Disease: Efficiency Vs. Equity

    By:  Luke E. Barry Sanjay Basu May Wang Roch A. Nianogo

    Context: Evidence suggests Medicaid expansion has improved cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, especially among those of lower socioeconomic… More

  9. Early View Perspective

    The Long Arc of Substance Use Policy Innovation in Medicaid: Looking Back, Looking Forward

    By:  Brendan Saloner

    This Perspective examines the role of Medicaid in the innovation of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. In 2023, an estimated 49 million Americans met criteria for an SUD and more than 100,000 people died of a drug overdose. Compared with the general population, people with SUD experience worse self-rated health, a higher burden of other chronic diseases, and more hospital care. More

Current Issue

  1. In the March 2025 Issue of the Quarterly: Population Health Imperiled

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  2. The Political Economy of the World Health Organization Model Lists of Essential Medicines

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  3. Centering Equity in Evidence-Informed Decision Making: Theoretical and Practical Considerations

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  4. Naming and Framing: Six Principles for Embedding Health Equity Language in Policy Research, Writing, and Practice

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  5. Innovative Insurance to Improve US Patient Access to Cell and Gene Therapy

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  6. How Are You Doing… Really? A Review of Whole Person Health Assessments

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The Milbank Quarterly Opinion

Who’s Affected by Medicaid Work Requirements? Its Not Who You Think

Since the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Medicaid expansion passed in 2010, Medicaid work requirement proponents have sought to convince policymakers that…  More

Mobile Crisis Teams and Medicaid Funding: Advancing Behavioral Health Crisis Response Across the United States

By continuing to innovate their crisis response and prevention capabilities, states have a unique opportunity to address persistent behavioral health crises and the disparities that drive them.  More

Invisible and Overlooked (Again): Older Adults, Ageism, and Substance Misuse

Given common physiological and social changes associated with aging, older adults face greater risks of substance-related harms than do younger adults who experience the same patterns of substance use.  More

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