The Milbank State Leadership Network hosted a virtual session for state legislators and legislative staff to discuss factors contributing to rising health care costs as well as opportunities for states to slow spending growth and make health care more affordable, with a particular focus on hospital costs. The briefing was hosted in partnership with Bailit Health, the technical assistance provider for the Peterson-Milbank Program for Sustainable Healthcare Costs. More

The health and well-being of all Americans — but especially women and babies — relies on timely and accurate data. Pregnancy and early childhood are particularly vulnerable periods that require careful monitoring, support, and response. The more up-to-date information we have, the better chance we have of preventing unnecessary deaths, building healthy families, and setting children up for success. Yet, US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s changes to the agency eliminated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Reproductive Health, among other divisions, almost entirely. More

Whether states adopt work requirements voluntarily or implement them pursuant to a federal requirement, they have the advantage of being able to learn from the problems encountered by Arkansas, the first state to implement a Medicaid work requirement. More

Abstract The United States ranks below peer nations on many measures of health status, health care access and quality, and health outcomes while spending significantly more on health care. This combination of factors has driven an effort to better align resources with need to address health disparities and use funds more efficiently. To identify areas […] More

Public acts of violence are harmful to viewers as well as victims, particularly when the victims are powerless. They can leave witnesses helpless and angry at the dehumanization that is occurring. It is worse when the government is inflicting the harm.  The announcement on April 11 by the Department of Justice that it would abandon a […] More

Engaging policymakers with authority over population health funding and policies in leadership development has great potential to depolarize issues and improve health outcomes. In a March 12, 2025, article in the American Journal of Public Health, Milbank Memorial Fund Director of Population Health Morgan McDonald, MD, shows how the Fund’s two nonpartisan legislative and executive […] More

The Milbank State Leadership Network hosted a virtual session for state legislators and legislative staff to hear directly from state and local public health officials on the impact of funding and federal program staffing cuts to core services. More

As health departments brace for potential additional funding losses, Morgan McDonald calls on state and local staff and policymakers on all sides of the aisle to communicate the impact of the cuts, particularly with their federal delegations. More

With federal funding cuts affecting local health departments, running a strong ground game is more challenging now than ever. More

For decades, the program has connected lower-income older adults and people with disabilities to the kind of care that helps them live with independence and purpose. More