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
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
Quarterly Opinion
April 2025 Andrew Anderson, Jacob Jorem,
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
April 2025 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
February 2025 Patricia Hong, Ezekiel J. Emanuel,
Artificial intelligence technology has opened a new avenue of opportunity to augment the mental health workforce and increase access to care. More
January 2025 Jake Haselswerdt,
Mental health problems represent a major public health issue for the United States, and access to mental health treatment is both inadequate and unevenly distributed. There is a strong justification for government action on mental health treatment, but it is unclear whether there is a political constituency for such action. Existing work suggests that stigma and othering of people with mental illnesses contributes to reduced support for intervention. I expand on the existing literature by focusing on mental health as an issue that may apply to Americans’ own lives rather than only to a stigmatized outgroup. More
October 2024 Dalton Conley,
In recent years, there has been a growing focus on a perceived mental health crisis among adolescents, as embodied by the alarming rise in reported… More
September 2024 Nicole A. Stadnick, Carrie Geremia, Megan Wynecoop, Amanda I Mauri, Kera Swanson, Jonathan Purtle,
More than 200 states and local jurisdictions use earmarked taxes — revenue from sales, income, or property taxes — to fund behavioral health services. More
July 2024 Harold A. Pollack, Eshan Dosani,
Working in the fields of substance use and harm reduction, we encounter the suffering and trauma experienced by study participants, community… More
July 2024 Yimin Ge, John A. Romley, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula,
Context: Access to integrated care for those with co-occurring mental health (MH) and substance use disorders (SUDs) has been limited because of an… More
March 2024 Harold A. Pollack, Kristin Lee Berg,
Learn about measures that can help address challenges that prevent people with intellectual and developmental disabilities from getting needed mental health care. More
