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.
Mental Health Social drivers of health
December 2025 Guangyi Wang, Daniel F. Collin, Deborah Karasek, Rita Hamad,
Context: In July 2021, to alleviate material hardship, Congress temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC), one of the largest income transfer… More
Report State Health Policy Leadership
December 2025 Katie M. Huber, Samantha Repka, Sara Debab , Alida Austin, William K. Bleser, Rushina Cholera, Robert S. Saunders, Rebecca G. Whitaker,
Copublished with the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy Abstract Recent federal policy reforms and funding reductions pose… More
Population Health Public Health
December 2025 Alan B. Cohen,
With each passing day, the United States federal government introduces yet another policy that threatens, rather than promotes, the health and… More
Mental Health Population Health
December 2025 Abdinasir K. Ali, Emily C. Dore, Rita Hamad,
In 2021, Congress expanded the earned income tax credit (EITC)—the largest US poverty alleviation program—to young adults without children who had previously been ineligible. More
State Health Policy Leadership
December 2025 Christopher F. Koller,
“Hi, Chris and John! How are you doing?” Dawnie greets us cheerfully, pushing a cart full of dirty utensils towards the elevator of the… More
December 2025
Debra Lubar, PhD, is president of the Milbank Memorial Fund, a more than 120-year-old operating foundation that aims to improve population health and… More
December 2025 Joanne Kenen,
North Carolina’s much-heralded Medicaid experiment, which addressed social drivers of health like food, housing, and transportation more broadly and systematically than in other states, is on the brink. More
Population Health Social drivers of health
November 2025 Harold A. Pollack,
nsider the story of John Miller, a fictionalized Chicagoan, who lives with a serious mental illness and co-occurring addiction disorders. He recently left a psychiatric inpatient facility. Estranged from his family, Mr. Miller was on the verge of becoming street homeless. More
Toolkit State Health Policy Leadership
November 2025 Annie Cloke, Margarita Hart, Janée Tyus, Dawn Alley, Shreya Kangovi,
Community health workers, promotores, and community health representatives have historically relied on a patchwork of grants for funding, but more than half of state Medicaid programs have now implemented some form of CHW/P/CHR coverage and payment policy. This toolkit provides model language for state Medicaid leaders and CHW/P/CHR advocates to use as they develop State Plan Amendments and accompanying guidance documents to establish coverage and payment for CHW/P/CHR services. More
Primary Care Transformation
November 2025 Asaf Bitton, MD, MPH,
Health care should not just be about treating illness. It should be about preventing it, building long-term healing relationships, and improving overall health outcomes. So, when we talk about how to extend life expectancy and improve health at a sustainable cost, the answer is simple: double down on primary care. More
