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.
March 1978 (Volume 56)
Quarterly Article
Brian Abel-Smith
March 2024
Mar 11, 2024
Feb 27, 2024
Back to The Milbank Quarterly
By giving everyone paper rights to health care, Americans may end up doing little better, at much greater cost, and feeling worse about it. The key to providing greater equity may be to find a way of defining the minimum that all should have. Most countries somehow define these limits for publicly provided services from education to cash assistance. But for health care benefits there are no simple limiting criteria-especially when professionals have the exceptional luxury of using whatever resources they choose. A realistic floor requires toughly maintained ceilings.
Author(s): Brian Abel-Smith
Download the Article
Read on JSTOR
Volume 56, Issue 1 (pages 7–21) Published in 1978
