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 blogs from our thought leaders, including Fund President Christopher F. Koller.
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.
Quarterly Topic
Quarterly Article
August 2025 Amanda I. Mauri, Zoe Lindenfeld, Charley Willison, THERESE L. TODD, Jonathan Purtle, DIANA SILVER,
Individuals with behavioral health disorders are more likely to experience substantial harm from a police encounter, prompting reforms to minimize encounters between police and people experiencing a behavioral health crisis. One strategy involves expanding partnerships between certified community behavioral health clinic (CCBHC) mobile crisis teams and emergency response systems, often through two models: 911 referral, wherein a CCBHC’s behavioral health practitioner–only team responds to 911 calls, and co-response, wherein a CCBHC clinician joins a police or emergency medical services (EMS) team. We examine whether the internal capacity of the CCBHC and external police capacity influence when CCBHCs engage in these partnerships. More
August 2025 ASHLY E. JORDAN, RABIAH GAYNOR, CAROL MOORES, YOLANDA CANTY, CHINAZO O. CUNNINGHAM,
In the United States, substance use disorder (SUD) is a significant public health and public safety challenge. Up to two-thirds of individuals who are incarcerated meet SUD criteria, compared with 16.7% of the general population. Individuals who have opioid use disorder (OUD) are also overrepresented in criminal legal settings: approximately 15.0% to 30.0% of individuals who are incarcerated have OUD, compared with 3.7% of the general population. Furthermore, individuals who are incarcerated are at high risk for fatal overdose both inside carceral facilities and upon reentry to the community. Overdose is the third leading cause of death in jails, and overdose deaths have increased more than six times over the past two decades in prisons. Among those reentering the community, fatal overdose is the leading cause of death. The risk of fatal overdose within the first two weeks following reentry is more than 100 times higher than in the general US population. More
April 2025 Jane M. Zhu, Ruth Rowland, Inga Suneson, Deborah J. Cohen, K. John McConnell, Daniel Polsky,
Behavioral health access gaps are well documented in Medicaid, in which managed care now covers most enrollees, and for which there are typically fewer options for going out-of-network for care. Despite the growing role of managed care organizations (MCOs) in financing and delivering behavioral health services, little is known about MCO levers that can improve access to care. More
February 2024 Laura M. Gottlieb, Danielle Hessler, Holly Wing, Alejandra Gonzalez-Rocha, Yuri Cartier, Caroline Fichtenberg,
Over the last decade, health care sector activities related to identifying and addressing patients’ social drivers of health have graduated from… More
May 2023 Bradley Iott, Denise Anthony,
Context: Despite growing interest in identifying patients’ social needs, little is known about hospitals’ provision of services to address them.… More
November 2021 Rowan G. M. Smeets, Dorijn F. L. Hertroijs, Ferdinand C. Mukumbang, Mariëlle E. A. L. Kroese, Dirk Ruwaard, Arianne M. J. Elissen,
Context: The complexity of integrated care and the need for transferable evaluation insights ask for a suitable evaluation paradigm. Realist… More
