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
September 2026 Shannon N. Ogden, Stephanie Loo, Megan B. Cole, Kathryn D. Thompson, Kenneth N. Lim, Sarah H. Gordon, Collette N. Ncube, Elizabeth W. Patton, Karen E. Lasser, Lois McCloskey,
In the wake of a US maternal health crisis, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) may be a key opportunity to improve maternal health care. More
November 2025 André Nogueira, MARGARET M. FITZPATRICK, ASHLEY GRESH, KENNEDY MCDANIEL, TIFFANY J. RISER, TERRANCE LINDSAY, RANDI WOODS, ADEDOYIN EISAPE, LISA STAMBOLIS, ALICIA COOKE, BRUCE LEFF, ELIANA PERRIN, REGINA HAMMOND, Sarah L. Szanton,
Despite spending more per capita on healthcare than any other nation, the United States experiences declining life expectancy and increasing chronic disease burden—a paradox reflecting fundamental limitations in the current treatment-centered, facility-based care system. This paper introduces Neighborhood Nursing, an innovative universal care infrastructure designed to shift the US healthcare toward proactive, prevention-centered care organized geographically in neighborhoods. More
June 2024 Caitlin Murphy, Ann Rossier Markus, Rebecca Morris, Kay Johnson, Sara Rosenbaum, Laurie C. Zephyrin,
Managed care is how Medicaid agencies principally furnish maternity care. For this reason, the contracts that Medicaid agencies enter into with managed care organizations have attracted strong interest as a means of improving maternal health access, quality, and equity. However, limited research has documented the extent to which states use these agreements to set binding expectations across the maternal health continuum and how states approach the task of maternal health contracting. More
June 2024 Beena Bhuiyan Khan, Victoria Gemme, Ethan Chupp, Aparna Higgins, Corinna Sorenson,
Context: To date, uptake of value-based payment (VBP) arrangements for medical products and knowledge of their design and impact have been mainly… More
January 2024 Emilie Francis-Auton, Janet C. Long, Mitchell Sarkies, Natalie Roberts, Johanna Westbrook, Jean-Frederic Levesque, Diana E. Watson, Rebecca Hardwick, Peter Hibbert, Chiara Pomare, Jeffrey Braithwaite,
This study identifies four system “enablers” that can help guide large-scale transformation in health care systems. More
April 2023 Kushal T. Kadakia, Anaeze C. Offodile,
US health care reform over the past decade has placed substantial focus on rewiring health care financing, specifically increasing provider accountability for utilization (i.e., cost) and/or outcomes. More
January 2023 Joseph T. Kannarkat, Soleil Shah, Natasha Parekh, Francis J. Crosson,
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) seeks to develop evidence-based alternative payment models (APM) to improve health care quality… More
January 2023 Denise A. Tyler, Zhanlian Feng, David C. Grabowski, Lawren Bercaw, Micah Segelman, Galina Khatutsky, Joyce Wang, Angela Gasdaska, Melvin J. Inger,
Context: In 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services implemented the Initiative to Reduce Avoidable Hospitalizations Among Nursing… More
Quarterly Opinion
October 2022 Kushal T. Kadakia, Zirui Song,
Rather than focusing on “clinical non-inferiority,” or whether the reform lowers spending without negatively affecting outcomes, the authors propose focusing first on improving health first and second on lowering the implications for spending second. More
October 2022 Rachel Tobey, James Maxwell, Eric Turer, Erin Singer, Zoe Lindenfeld, Robert S. Nocon, Allison Coleman, Joshua Bolton, Hank Hoang, Alek Sripipatana, Elbert S. Huang,
Context: Efforts are ongoing to advance value-based payment (VBP), and health centers serve as essential access points to comprehensive primary care… More