The Fund supports networks of state health policy decision makers to help identify, inspire, and inform policy leaders.
A bipartisan group of state health policymakers from both the executive and legislative branches who are focused on improving population health.
Networks of state officials, advocates, and others aiming to invest in and transform primary care.
A program dedicated to advancing state-based efforts to make health care more affordable for residents, employers, and states.
The Milbank Memorial Fund supports two state leadership programs for legislative and executive branch state government officials committed to improving population health.
A leadership development program for early and mid-career state government officials who are committed to improving the health of all people in their communities.
A leadership program for senior state government officials who are committed to improving population health.
The Fund focuses on creating an affordable health care system built on strong primary care and partnerships that improve health outcomes for all.
Improving state leaders’ ability to enact and implement evidence-based health policies.
Advancing policies that create a more prevention- and primary care-oriented health system.
Improving population health through policies that contain health care cost growth.
Our state health policy resources offer relevant data analysis and best practices.
The Fund publishes reports, issues briefs, and case studies on state health policy issues.
Short takes on health policy issues from Milbank staff and guest authors.
Insights from Milbank President Debra Lubar on state health policymaking.
Reported articles and Q&As on timely health policy issues, as well as foundation updates.
Milbank Memorial Fund and Milbank Quarterly webinars featuring state health policymakers and researchers.
Updates and expert contact information for reporters.
The Milbank Memorial Fund is a private foundation that works to improve population health and health equity.
Quarterly Topic
Quarterly Article
August 2025 LORI DORFMAN, Sarah E. Gollust, MAKANI THEMBA, PRITPAL S. TAMBER, Anthony Iton,
A growing body of scholarship and practice in public health attests to the importance of addressing differences in power as a fundamental determinant of health inequities. To pursue health equity, public health practitioners must move beyond identifying differences in health outcomes among populations (disparities) to articulating why those differences are unfair or unjust (inequities) and then identifying structures, such as laws, policies, practices, and norms, that advantage some and disadvantage others. More
Quarterly Opinion
March 2025 Steven H. Woolf,
Upon taking office, President Trump terminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs throughout the government. Federal agencies, including… More
January 2025 Harold A. Pollack, Jason Lerner, S. Rebecca Neusteter,
Just before 1:30 a.m., March 26, 2024, America experienced a historic transportation tragedy. The cargo ship Dali lost power, and brought down… More
July 2023 Eli K. Michaels, Tracy Lam-Hine, Thu T. Nguyen, Gilbert C. Gee, Amani M. Allen,
Cultural racism is a pervasive social toxin that surrounds all other dimensions of racism to produce and maintain racial health inequities. Yet, cultural racism has received relatively little attention in the public health literature. More
April 2023 Anthony L. Schlaff, Ndidiamaka N. Amutah-Onukagha, Dorcas Mabiala, Jasmin Kamruddin, Fernando F. Ona,
Context: Since the beginning of COVID-19 and the rise of social justice movements sparked by the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the… More
April 2023 Paula Braveman,
Preterm birth (PTB)—birth before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy—is among the most important indicators of a population’s health. It is the… More
April 2023 Jamila Michener, Tiffany N. Ford,
Profound racial inequities were entrenched in crucial domains of American life long before COVID-19. In the wake of the pandemic, these preexisting disparities deepened. More
June 2022 Simar Singh Bajaj, Anthony Zhong, Bhav Jain, Fatima Cody Stanford,
The connections between infrastructure and health are robust, from the benefits of green spaces, physical activity, and clean air to the consequences of water pollution, community severance, and environmental contamination. More
March 2022 Seth A. Berkowitz,
Social conditions give rise to material realities. The social conditions structuring access to those resources “necessary to lower the risk of… More
February 2022 Heidi L. Allen, Ezra Golberstein, Zinzi Bailey,
The Biden administration has made Medicaid a central feature of its Build Back Better health policy platform, with a goal of reducing disparities.… More