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 posts from our staff and guest authors.
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.
Health Equity
March 2026 Alana M. W. Lebrón, Ruth Enid Zambrana,
Public health science gains in the last quarter century in the United States have been formidable due to a focus on structural and social determinants of health, thereby enhancing understanding of the role of inequitable policies in shaping health inequities and inequitable access to ameliorative resources. More
Health Insurance Reproductive Health State Health Policy
March 2026 Erica L. Eliason, Maria W. Steenland, Rebecca A. Gourevitch,
Context: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, persons with pregnancy Medicaid coverage were typically disenrolled after 60 days postpartum, at which point they could retain Medicaid only if they qualified through another eligibility category (most commonly as a parent). The March 2020 Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) extended postpartum Medicaid coverage by requiring states to pause disenrollment in exchange for enhanced federal funding. More
Milbank State Leadership Network State Health Policy Leadership
March 2026 Morgan McDonald,
In January, Minnesota launched its paid family and medical leave program, making it one of 13 states with a statewide paid leave program in place or in process. For this Q&A, Milbank’s National Director for Population Health, Morgan McDonald, MD, talked with the legislation’s sponsors, Former Rep. Ruth Richardson, an alumna of the Emerging Leaders Program, and Sen. Alice Mann, MD, an alumna of the Milbank Fellows Program, about their motivations and approach to passing the bill. Both interviewees highlighted how their ongoing communication with each other and with the members of a large and diverse coalition — as well as their use of both storytelling and data — led to this investment in Minnesota’s families and businesses. (Watch a video of the interview at right.) More
Health Care Affordability
March 2026 Cori E. Uccello, Annette James, Rebecca A. Sheppard, Sara Teppema,
Public programs have increasingly sought to address health-related social needs that create barriers to care and health disparities and drive health care costs. For instance, several state Medicaid programs now cover medically tailored meals, housing supports, and non-emergency transportation through managed care and demonstration waivers. More
State Health Policy Leadership
March 2026 Margaret Koller, Joe Brecht,
Which pregnant women are most likely to rely on emergency department care, and how can they be better served? How did COVID-19 affect birth outcomes, and what would support improvements in future infectious disease outbreaks? These and other questions can be answered with existing state data when these data are integrated. More
March 2026 Iliya Gutin, Jennifer Karas Montez, Emily Wiemers, Shannon M. Monnat, Douglas A. Wolf,
Mental health among US working-age adults notably worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic, following a steady decades-long decline. The impact of states’ COVID-19 policies on mental health has received much attention; however, less is known about the impact of a broader set of long-standing and overarching state policy contexts. More
March 2026 Debra Lubar,
My modern high-rise apartment overlooks one of the few historical ruins in New York City. The remains of New York’s smallpox hospital,… More
Reproductive Health
March 2026 Emma Virginia Clark, Robyn Schafer, Rachel Lane Walden, Julie Blumenfeld, Carrie E. Neerland, Katie Page, Mavis N. Schorn, Sanjana Chimata, Heather M. Bradford,
The alarming rise in US maternal mortality and disparities in perinatal, sexual, and reproductive health outcomes underscores the urgent need for effective, equitable, and evidence-based models of care. Care provided by certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) has played a critical role in addressing these disparities, yet a comprehensive synthesis of its impact across health care quality domains is lacking. More
March 2026 Mary Louise Gilburg,
On March 2, 2026, The Milbank Memorial Fund submitted a public comment in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s proposal to amend the § 685.102 Degree Definitions to include new definitions of graduate student and professional student. More
Population Health
March 2026 Alan B. Cohen,
The “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement has garnered polarized reactions, with praise among proponents for its core elements while also… More
